Macron hints at Foreign Legion's potential deployment to Ukraine
"I'm not ruling anything out," said French President Emmanuel Macron a few days ago when "The Economist" questioned the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. Unconfirmed reports from the "Asia Times" suggest that about 100 soldiers from the 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment may participate in operations in Donbas.
7:34 AM EDT, May 6, 2024
In early May, Emmanuel Macron disclosed in an interview with "The Economist" that Western countries should consider deploying troops to Ukraine if Russian forces broke through the front line and Kyiv requested direct military support, which means sending soldiers.
"I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out," he stated, emphasizing that France is a country that has recently been involved in military interventions.
The French president's remarks sparked numerous comments from politicians and security experts. Most NATO member states have cautiously reacted to Paris's proposal. The United States, for instance, announced as early as February that it does not plan to send its troops to Ukraine.
The Foreign Legion in Donbas?
Stephen Bryen, a former Deputy Secretary of Defense for the US under President Ronald Reagan, claimed on the "Asia Times" website that France dispatched approximately 100 soldiers from the 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment to Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine. He suggests they are there to assist the Ukrainian army in repelling the Russian offensive in Donbas.
Neither French nor Ukrainian authorities have commented on these reports from "Asia Times," which emerged last weekend.
Bryen asserts that these soldiers, involved in artillery and reconnaissance units, will support the Ukrainian 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade. An estimated 1,500 military personnel from the Foreign Legion are anticipated to arrive in Ukraine.
The expert revealed that most of these soldiers are not French citizens, indicating that the Paris government opted for a compromise to avoid deploying its nationals to the front line.
Potential for Escalation
However, Bryen views Paris's decision to deploy armed forces to Donbas as "extremely provocative," posing a significant risk of escalating tensions between Russia and Western countries.
He also noted that "there is no possibility" for the soldiers from the Foreign Legion heading to Ukraine to enter the country through any other route than Poland.
