Russia publishes "evidence" that France is about to send troops to Ukraine

Ms. Maria Zakharova - Spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry (photo: TASS)

“There is confirmed information that France is preparing to send troops to Ukraine. I would like to say that we have been warning about this since April 3. Although Paris tries to hide the involvement of the French military in the conflict (in Ukraine), Kiev is deliberately promoting this to call on the West to support its failed military effort even more,” Zakharova said at a press conference on May 30.

Pointing to documents allegedly signed by Oleksandr Syrsky – Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian forces – Ms. Zakharova said:

“The Elysee Palace should now comment on these reports, instead of hiding them with ambiguous language.”

Ms. Zakharova did not say where the documents came from.

According to TASS, documents published by Ms. Zakharova show that Kiev has granted permission for a number of French servicemen to visit military training centers of the Ukrainian forces. The French servicemen came to Ukraine for training purposes.

“On paper, these people were sent to instruct Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the long-range SCALP missile system, which is difficult to control,” Ms. Zakharova said.

According to Ms. Zakharova, in addition to France, Poland and some Baltic countries have also made statements about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.

“This shows that their initial plan in Ukraine has completely failed. Now they are trying to find every way to make Ukraine continue the fighting,” Ms. Zakharova said.

France and Ukraine have not commented on Ms Zakharova's statements.

On the same day, May 30, Reuters quoted a well-informed source as saying that France could send troops to Ukraine after Ukrainian President Zelensky's visit next week (June 6).

According to the plan, France will initially send some military personnel to Ukraine to assess the situation. After that, France may send several hundred soldiers to Ukraine with the mission of training this country's soldiers.

The training will focus on mine clearance, equipment maintenance and operation of military equipment provided to Ukraine by the West, according to Reuters.

“The negotiations are progressing well. We can expect a decision next week,” an anonymous source told Reuters.

On May 27, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said he had signed documents allowing French military instructors to come to Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers.

Since late February 2022, France has supported the training of about 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers, but this activity is carried out outside Ukrainian territory, according to Reuters.

Vuong Nam – TASS, Reuters

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/nga-cong-bo-bang-chung-phap-sap-gui-quan-toi-ukraine-204666176.htm