France’s ministry of defense pushed back March 19 against claims by Russia’s intelligence agency that it was preparing to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine, calling the remarks irresponsible and stating that they amounted to disinformation and a provocation.
The response came just hours after the director of Russian Foreign Intelligence (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, claimed that French troops are already being prepared.
“The current leadership of the country (France: TASS) does not care about the deaths of ordinary French people or about the concerns of the generals. According to information coming to the Russian SVR, a contingent to be sent to Ukraine is already being prepared. Initially, it will include around 2,000 troops,” he said, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
The French response was unequivocal. “The maneuver orchestrated by Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence, once again illustrates Russia’s systematic use of disinformation,” France’s defense ministry said in a statement. “We consider this type of provocation irresponsible.”
According to the Russian foreign intelligence chief, the French military “fears that such a large military unit cannot be transferred and stationed in Ukraine unnoticed,” Tass reported.
Naryshkin said that French troops would be a legitimate target for Russian forces if they “ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword.”
Franco–Russian relations have hit a low point in recent weeks as Paris has vowed increased support for Ukraine. This includes the signing of a bilateral long-term security accord with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in addition to promising to send more long-range cruise missiles.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also adopted a tougher stance on Russia, vowing that Moscow must be defeated.
Mr. Macron said at a conference on Ukraine in February that Western states should increase their military support to Ukraine, but rebuffed calls to crush the Russian nation beyond the military engagement in its neighboring country, as reported by the BBC.
“I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position,” he said.
“I do not think, as some people do, that we must aim for a total defeat of Russia, attacking Russia on its own soil,” Mr. Macron told Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, according to the BBC.
While the French president has not ruled out the possibility of future military intervention in Ukraine, he was clear to state that such a measure would not apply at the current time, and that France has no intention of instigating hostilities against Russia.
Paris has accused Russia of habitually spreading disinformation. In January, France dismissed claims of having sent mercenaries to Ukraine, following a resolution adopted by Russia condemning mercenaries in the country.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this article.
