“We have to say at some point that, if Russia goes too far, all Europeans must be ready to act, to deter them.It is approaching our homes, so we must be prepared for it,” the president said in a video shared on his YouTube channel, in which he answered questions from citizens.
Macron assured that it is necessary to arm oneself to protect the future of his country, however, he assured that France is “a power of peace”. He also said that sending more aid to Ukraine will happen in the coming weeks.
“We can’t be sure because it’s happening 1,500 km from our home. Right now Romania, Poland, Lithuania and other countries can be attacked,” the president said, adding that if peace is to be achieved, it “has to be protected.”
“That’s why we have to arm ourselves, and that’s why we have to be a credible deterrent sometimes to our adversaries by telling them: ‘if you go too far and threaten my interests and my security, I will not rule out intervention,'” Macron said.
In a reality check, prominent Swiss military analyst Colonel Alexander Votraver, who is also Deputy Chief of the Strategic Staff of the Swiss Armed Forces and editor-in-chief of the prestigious Swiss Military Review (RMS+) has put the situation in perspective on a French TV channel: “The question to ask is: Is the French army sufficiently equipped with modern weapons to contribute to offensive operations against a superior enemy?
“The forces they could move are two brigades of 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, with a duration of a deployment of 1 to 3 months maximum. But if we are talking about a longer term, as is obviously required in Ukraine, we are talking about only two battalions, which are currently in the Baltic countries and in Romania. The bad news is that these forces are absolutely insufficient to face a Russian army of half a million troops.”
At the end of February, President Macron said he had discussed with the leaders of some NATO member countries, including Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, the possible sending of troops to Ukraine, but no consensus was reached.
Several member states of the Atlantic Alliance, including Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, the United States, Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic and others, have already distanced themselves from Macron and refused to send their soldiers to Ukraine.
Moscow said some NATO countries had taken a good look at the potential danger posed by the Paris plan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Western countries supporting. Ukraine are becoming part of the conflict and any arms shipment to Kyiv will become a legitimate target for the Russian Armed Forces.
Source:diario-octubre.com
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