Kremlin did not rule out today the possibility of Russian armed forces striking strikes on French instructors, whose dispatch to Ukraine is currently being discussed between Paris and Kiev, reported France Press and BTA.
„Not a single instructor participating in the training of the Ukrainian military will be safe,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "It doesn't matter if they're French or not," he added.
Last week, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, said that France “soon“ will send instructors to train Ukrainian troops, who have been fighting the Russian invasion since February 2022. Shortly afterwards, however, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that sending instructors was “still under discussion” with France and other countries, notes AFP.
Officially, France has no military personnel assisting or training Ukrainian forces in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly raised the possibility of sending Western troops to help Kiev, causing controversy among his allies and angering Russia.
The idea of a European coalition of military instructors training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, which France would like to see implemented, is being discussed among Europeans but seems far from finalised. Many countries are worried about the impact of such a step on their relations with Moscow, according to AFP.