The deputy speaker of the State Duma said the Russian army would take out all the troops deployed by France to Ukraine, if Paris decided to do this.
"There are currently about 13,000 foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, including 367 French citizens. 147 French people have died," Deputy Speaker of the State Duma (the Russian lower house of parliament) Pyotr Tolstoy said on March 21.
Russia has previously accused the Ukrainian government of recruiting fighters from 63 countries, including France, to fight for Kiev. Paris has denied Moscow's claims, calling the accusations "propaganda".
Referring to the possibility of Paris sending military forces to support Kiev, Mr. Tolstoy warned that the country's army would "take down all French soldiers who come to Ukraine."
"The idea of sending French soldiers to Ukraine will end with coffins draped in the tricolor flag at Orly," the deputy speaker of the Russian State Duma said, referring to the international airport south of the French capital Paris. "The French must understand that there will be consequences."
Mr. Tolstoy in a photo published in January 2021. Photo: TASS
Mr Tolstoy also said Russia was “not interested” in statements by French President Emmanuel Macron that there were “no limits” to France’s support for Ukraine. “We are not interested in Macron or what he says about his limits,” the Russian official stressed.
The Russian State Duma deputy speaker made the statement after Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said on March 19 that France was preparing to send a large-scale force to Ukraine, which could initially number up to 2,000 soldiers.
The French Ministry of Defense later denied the information given by the SVR leader. "What Mr. Naryshkin said once again shows how Russia systematically uses disinformation," the French Ministry of Defense said.
Russia would “benefit” if France decided to deploy troops to Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on March 20. He stressed that French soldiers, if they were sent to Ukraine, would become “intervention forces” and that eliminating them was a “priority and a matter of honor” for the Russian military.
Tensions between Russia and France have risen since President Macron said last month that the West would not rule out deploying ground troops to Ukraine in the future, something that is considered taboo and could draw NATO into a large-scale war with Russia.
French paratroopers conduct a drill in the town of Castres in the southwestern region of the country in February 2023. Photo: AFP
Some Eastern European countries support Mr Macron's idea, but Germany and many other European countries oppose it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of the risk of nuclear conflict after Mr Macron's comments, while Mr Medvedev said his country would remove "red lines" with France.
However, Mr. Macron still refused to back down from his position, although he explained that the statement did not mean that France would send troops to Ukraine in the near future. President Macron reiterated on March 16 that the West may need to launch a ground operation in Ukraine "at some point," but stressed that France was not the initiator.
Pham Giang (According to TASS, BFMTV, AFP )
Source link
Comment (0)