France’s chief of Army Staff, Pierre Schill, has said that Paris is ready to send its troops to Ukraine early next year as part of security guarantees proposed by Kyiv’s backers in the West in case an agreeable ceasefire takes place.
Schill, while addressing the defence committee, said that the next year “will be marked by coalitions”, marking French military exercises with its EU counterparts to test the coordination among the NATO forces. He said, “We are to deploy troops to Ukraine under the security guarantees framework, if necessary.”
He said France is capable of sending 7000 troops on a NATO mission, including deployment in Ukraine.
Paris maintains a national-level emergency force which can be mobilised within 12 hours to five days for both domestic and international missions under NATO commitments.
The announcement was made a day after the chief of the armed forces, Fabien Mandon, said that the French military must be ready for a potential confrontation with Russia within the next few years. He said, “Moscow may try to expand the conflict to the European continent,” a claim that Russia vehemently denies.
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Earlier in September, the EU chief, along with strong Ukraine backers, said they were drafting a plan for “security guarantees” for Kyiv.
The plan consists of sending about 10,000 troops to Ukraine – one group to train and assist Ukrainian units, and another to serve as a “reassurance force” after a peace deal.
Moscow, on the other hand, has rejected any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine, warning that any foreign soldier deployed in Ukraine without Russian consent will be deemed a legitimate target under Russian law.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Western Europe is “doing everything” to escalate the conflict, accusing “non-professionals” in EU governments of failing to grasp the consequences of their actions.
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