Press
According to the Ukrainian military, France wants to send trainers to Ukraine. Russia speaks of “warlike ecstasy” with regard to NATO.
Paris/Kyiv – France wants Military instructors in Ukraine And according to the Ukrainian military, this should begin “soon”. “I welcome France’s initiative to send instructors for the Ukrainian military to Ukraine,” wrote Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrsky on Telegram on Monday. He has already signed the relevant documents.
The French Ministry of Defense confirmed to the news agency AFP merely that the matter is being examined. “As has already been mentioned several times, training on Ukrainian soil is one of the issues that has been discussed since the Ukraine Supporters Conference convened by President (Emmanuel Macron) on February 26,” the ministry said. The French side is currently trying to understand exactly what kind of help Ukraine needs.
War against Russia: Macron brought NATO troops into play in Ukraine
Previously, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu had reported on a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart. The conversation concerned upcoming deliveries of Caesar guns, Aster air defense missiles and Scalp cruise missiles, which France had previously promised. The conversation also concerned future aid packages, which the minister did not elaborate on.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian war of aggression for more than two years. Recently, there has been repeated talk of the possible deployment Western military instructors in the war zone discussedto provide more effective support to the Ukrainian army, which is under pressure. Officially, there are no such training programs yet.
Macron had already raised the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine in February. This offended many allies. At the time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out sending German soldiers to Ukraine.
Russia reacts angrily to NATO’s move: “Warlike ecstasy”
Russia accused the NATO Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov also referred to the discussion about lifting the restriction on the use of Western weapons against targets in Russia. “NATO is increasing the level of escalation, NATO is playing with war rhetoric and is falling into war ecstasy,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told Russian media during a state visit by President Wladimir Putin in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Monday.
Peskov also responded to comments by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that member states should reconsider lifting some restrictions on the use of Western weapons against targets in Russia. “Under international law, the right to self-defense includes the right to attack legitimate military targets outside Ukraine. This is part of self-defense,” Stoltenberg said. As an example of a possible use of Western weapons, he cited the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, where the front line and the border with Russia more or less coincide. (dpa/afp/fmú)
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