21 Mar, 2024 20:45

Macron believes Ukraine could fall soon – Politico

The French president reportedly voiced the sentiment at an Elysee Palace dinner

French President Emmanuel Macron believes Ukraine might be defeated on the battlefield in short order, the French edition of Politico reported on Wednesday.

The outlet’s Playbook section spoke with several members of the president’s party who had attended a working dinner at the Elysee Palace the evening before. While most of the discussion centered on the upcoming European Parliament elections, the Ukraine conflict also came up.

“Ukraine could fall very quickly,” one of the outlet’s sources quoted Macron as saying.

Macron ramped up his rhetoric about Ukraine a few weeks after a number of French nationals fighting on behalf of Kiev were killedin a Russian missile strike. At a meeting of EU leaders in Paris in late February, he refused to rule out the possibility of a NATO intervention in Ukraine.

Though the idea was quickly rejected by almost all members of the US-led bloc and its secretary-general, Macron doubled down, declaring there would be “no limits” to French support for Kiev and calling Russia an “adversary.” Meanwhile, the French Army’s Chief of Staff Pierre Schill announced that the country’s military was “ready,” presumably for a war.

Moscow has strongly condemned Macron’s remarks and cautioned NATO against taking further hostile moves. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the deployment of Western soldiers to Ukraine would make direct conflict with Russia “inevitable.”

Marine Le Pen, a prominent member of the opposition National Rally party and Macron’s rival in the 2022 election, accused the president last week of “hijacking” the Ukraine issue for the sake of domestic electoral politics. Polls have shown that the French support helping Kiev with weapons and money, but draw the line at getting involved directly with boots on the ground.

Concerns that Kiev might be losing the war appear to be based on several French military assessments leaked earlier this month to the outlet Marianne. One report, following Kiev’s summer offensive, concluded that Ukraine could not win the conflict by military means. Another described the Battle of Avdeevka as a Ukrainian rout and had the French military “in cold sweat,” according to Marianne.

A few days later, the daily Le Monde claimedthat Macron’s talk of possibly sending troops dated all the way back to June 2023, when the Ukrainian counteroffensive was just starting. General Schill also told the outlet that Macron’s public statements have been “foremost a political and strategic message” to Russia about France’s “will and commitment,”rather than an actual escalation.

(What kind of blackmail does Zelensky have on him to violate NATO laws, and to potentionally start a war with Russia. It must be bad)

https://www.rt.com/news/594643-macron-ukraine-fall-quickly/

21 Mar, 2024 10:41

Zelensky’s security chief insults senior Chinese diplomat

Aleksey Danilov made an obscene play on words with Li Hui’s name during a live interview

Aleksey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has insulted a senior Chinese diplomat during a live interview by playing on the similarity between his name and a Ukrainian swear word.

Danilov rebuked Beijing’s special representative on Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, on national TV on Wednesday after the diplomat visited Kiev earlier this month. According to Politico’s sources, he “amplified” a message that his government may boycott international talks on the Ukraine conflict, which Kiev wants to convene without Russia in Switzerland.

During the interview, the Ukrainian official angrily declared thatit is up to his nation to decide its fate, and not “some Hui, or whatever his name is.”One of the co-hosts smirked and covered her mouth with her hand, reacting to the play on words.

In Ukrainian and Russian, the name resembles a swear word for male genitalia.

The security chief has been known to resort to combative and abrasive rhetoric. Last month, he said in an interview that EU nations should give all their heavy weapons to Kiev, explaining that they won’t need them in the kind of warfare the future holds for them.

In November, he called for a crackdown on officials who disparage Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky while talking to Western journalists on condition of anonymity.

Danilov was commenting on a piece published in Time magazine, which described growing frustration in Ukraine with the president and his refusal to consider peace talks with Russia despite setbacks on the battlefield.

(Ukraine must not know the power and retaliation of China.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/594608-danilov-li-hui-insult/

21 Mar, 2024 15:34

Russian MP warns French soldiers not to enter Ukraine

Pyotr Tolstoy has accused Paris of provoking World War III

France should think twice before sending troops to Ukraine, Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman Pyotr Tolstoy has said. Speaking to French BFM TV on Thursday, he warned that any French soldier who comes to Ukraine to fight against Russia will be eliminated.

His comments came in response to recent remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron about potentially sending troops to the conflict zone. Last month, Macron triggered a barrage of criticism when he said that he “cannot exclude” the possibility of Western soldiers being deployed to aid Ukraine. While most NATO member states rushed to disavow his words and claimed that they had no such plans, the French leader later reaffirmed his stance by saying he recognizes no limits or Russian “red lines” when it comes to backing Kiev.

Tolstoy warned that Macron’s idea of sending French soldiers to Ukraine “will end with coffins covered by the [French] tricolor flag.”

“We don’t care for [Macron’s] opinions. We don’t care for Macron himself, what he says, or his limits. And we will kill all French soldiers who set foot on Ukrainian soil. Every single one that comes,” Tolstoy stated.

According to the MP, over the past two years some 13,000 foreign mercenaries have taken part in the conflict, fighting on Kiev’s side, including 367 French citizens. Of those, 147 have already died in battle. He called on the French public to consider how many more could perish if Paris officially deploys troops to the conflict zone.

“The French must understand the consequences… You are provoking World War III,” he said.

Earlier this week, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, Sergey Naryshkin, claimed that a force of up to 2,000 troops was being prepared by France for a possible deployment to Ukraine. Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko on Wednesday also said that Paris is considering deploying a military force to the conflict zone, or more specifically to Ukrainian regions bordering Belarus. He said Macron is “very determined” to send troops to Ukraine, citing his sources close to the French leader.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the news agency dpa this week, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the fact that Western forces are already present in Ukraine is an “open secret.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that Moscow was aware that Western soldiers, including French nationals, have been taking part in the conflict for some time. He warned, however, that direct deployment of Western troops to Ukraine would be seen by Moscow as the start of a direct confrontation

https://www.rt.com/russia/594624-russia-warning-french-soldiers/