this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
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French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that he “cannot exclude” the possibility of Western soldiers being sent to aid Kiev in its fight against Moscow, branding Russia an “adversary” while denying Paris was “waging war” against it.

Russia’s military and top officials have repeatedly pointed to the presence of French mercenaries already fighting for Kiev on the ground.

In the statement on Tuesday, the SVR chief said the French Armed Forces had become “concerned” about the rising number of French nationals dying in Ukraine.

The casualty level has supposedly surpassed a “psychological threshold” and could trigger protests, the statement said, adding that Macron’s government was concealing this information and “delaying” the moment it would have to be revealed.

The claims come as the chief of staff of the French Army, Gen. Pierre Schill, said in an interview on Tuesday that France is prepared to take part in the “toughest engagements” militarily, and is ready to face any international developments. He added that Paris could assemble a division of 20,000 troops within 30 days and an army of 60,000 by joining with divisions from other NATO allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also claimed this week that Western mercenaries, including French nationals, are dying in Ukraine “in large numbers.” Commenting on a potential NATO deployment to Ukraine, the president also warned that this would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”

Cross posted this from lemmygrad

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 7 months ago (3 children)

big-cool

Love it

Love teetering over the edge of nuclear annihilation

[–] [email protected] 50 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's so cool that our leaders have the additude of sheltered children

[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I saw Terminator 2 at a fairly young age

The nightmare that Sara Connor has where she watches a nuke obliterate LA stuck with me

Like I would wake up screaming from having nightmares about it

How does anyone even feel comfortable even coming close to having that happen, let alone try and risk it?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 7 months ago (2 children)

People making the decisions think their bunkers are going to sustain them.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

I'm afraid it's easy worse than that. They don't really believe they'll need their bunkers, they are so high on their own supply that they believe they will be protected simply by being exceptional Aryan Übermenschen.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago

My parents said that it sucked, but that we were fortunate to live in this time now that the USSR was gone deeper-sadness

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago

If this goes half as well as Vietnam, Mali, and Libya...

[–] [email protected] 40 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Just last week there was an article where macron was trying to posture but a bunch of other people in the french government clarified that all boots on the ground would be in support roles like demining and supply lines. They aren't going to do shit lol. At most 30k dumbasses will show up to be water boys to the azov for a week and then pack up and go on home. And it will be lauded by the press as the greatest french victory since they killed all the africans who fought for them.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I honestly hope you're right. I just didn't see the west as capable of fighting peer opponents.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

France hasn't fought a peer opponent since it got its ass kicked in Vietnam afaik.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

They really haven't; if they go into this, the results will melt the psyche of every westoid.

They won't get a tenth of the success they anticipate. The reality will hit them so hard that they might just start another war in the sahel to boost westoid moral.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

These guys are going in to help defend Odessa I think. They already acknowledge they can be legitimately targeted by the Russian federation.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Even at the high end of a 60k multinational coalition, I don't get what that would achieve at this point in the war. Maybe if it was immediately after the first Russian offensive stalled, but two years in Russia now has a war economy. It has trade agreements for increasing numbers of drones and shells which it has refined through daily live fire against NATO vehicles, weapons, and tactics. Nothing within 70km of the frontline is safe from FABs and the Ukrainians squandered their chance to build defensive lines as they were mocking the Russians for doing so last year. They can shoot hypersonic missiles anywhere in the country, launch like 100+ daily sorties for FABs, and have a secure supply chain for their massive artillery advantage.

It's such WW1 logic to think that you can stop a fundamentally different kind of war by throwing another wave of obsolete troops into the meat grinder.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's not so much about turning the tide at this point, it's about keeping the grinder fed

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Maybe European rulers have come to the conclusion that they need to keep the meat grinder running in order to stabilise their regimes? The big bad Russian bogeyman has proven incredibly useful for distracting the public and justifying austerity, crackdown on dissent and expansion of the security state. If the war stops Putin will no longer be as scary and people might start to ask why their schools are falling apart or why their roads are full of potholes or why nothing is being done to avert climate disaster. They might demand some kind of peace dividend.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

Pretty much

That and nothing is more profitable than a war

I still remember when they jacked up food prices and blamed it on the war

Even for things that didn't use any products farmed or made in Ukraine

[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's the same level of strategic thinking as in low level MOBA games - one by oning into terrible fights and getting owned.

Nato confirmed bronzies

[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The west needs to farm side lanes in order to catch backup in econ before they fight for big objectives.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

I don't like how in this analogy plundering the third world would be"farming the sidelanes"

[–] [email protected] 36 points 7 months ago

"People would be so mad if they knew how many mercenaries were thrown away into this meatgrinder in gormless human wave attacks, surely they would demand we start throwing even more lives away into the meatgrinder! Will we ask for public approval? No, we're just gonna go with the tossing people into the meatgrinder idea, surely it's what they want. Well it's what we want, anyways, so that's what they're getting. Tossed into the meatgrinder for our vanity."

Something something, the savage European peninsula where life is cheap, something something brainpans, something something bloodthirsty scions of Mars.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 7 months ago

foreign legion arrives

its half russian anyways

they decide to return to france through transsiberian railroad for memes

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Media bluff, if the Russians fall for this nonsense it's honestly on them

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

I really hope you are right. Sadly, I don't think World War III is off the table in our lifetime. Not doom posting; I just think it's within the realm of possibility, and that alone is very concerning. Not saying even if the French deploy, it's World War III, just that should it happen, it would be a further step on the path of escalation.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The western media may be high on copium, but every single western military is perfectly aware what a bloodbath the war is for Ukrainian troops

The French elites aren't going to press the button labeled "most dead French soldiers since WW2" not over Ukraine

This is really an example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, while half the media is decrying the retention shortfalls of European armies the other half is pumping its chest out and asserting Macron is about to send the Imperial Guard reborn into the guns of massed Russian artillery

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago

It's not just Ukraine, mind you. America's stance towards the PRC has gotten more aggressive as well. It seems like people in some circles of the US government almost want a war with China. I do agree that France would get fucked hard if they deployed their 30,000 to 60,000 men. At the very least, it would serve as a reality check when thousands of soldiers come home in body bags.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Historians might even say WWIII started in 2014 or 2011 or 2003.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago

Western historians still consider 1939 to be the start of WW2 despite the other half of the world starting it years earlier

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

WWIII started in 1991 rust-darkness

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago

I think it's a half truth; France will continue to send troops but

  1. they will not do any fighting, maybe "training" or advising

Or

  1. they will be sending troops to actually fight, but they will add an additional 100-200 people on the front line.
[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This is not a bluff. I predict they are being sent to defend Odessa. The only question is Russia willing to take Odessa knowing that it will be targeting French troops directly. This is the point where leftists in my opinion should start to think about criticizing the Russian war effort and I say that as probably one of the wars biggest advocates on the site.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I’ve been calling this. The Europeans are not playing around. My only question is are they acting within the United States direction or not. Keep in mind that from the Europeans perspective the Americans have pulled massive amounts of money out.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There have been euro troops in theater for pretty much the entire conflict. They're doing shit on the back end (and also running euro missile defense gear) that doesn't place them in direct combat, the idea being that they're freeing up Ukrainians to go be killed by artillery rather than repair vehicles, move hardware, etc. I think this is just big-talking sending French troops to do the same thing.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I know Europeans have been in theater the entire conflict but they’ve been acting as foreign fighters. Also the amount of surveillance equipment in Ukraine means that unless you’re in protected nato territory then you are not doing shit on the back end. Ukrainian rear lines are actively being hit constantly. Being part of missile defense is being a combatant.

This however is different, they’re not talking about foreign French fighter (of which there are already many of in Ukraine. Russia killed 60 of them recently) they’re talking about French troops I assume in French uniform. My theory is they are going in to protect Odessa. Basically to act as a shield for Ukraines last port. The French already acknowledged if they send troops they will be legitimate targets for Russia. They’re wanting to see if Russia is willing to fire on nato troops. Problem is Russia has already said they’re prepared to fight NATO. From my perspective this war either ends with Russia allowing Ukraine to keep Odessa or this broadens into an actual war between Russia and whatever European nations decide to follow France’s lead. The Germans are already making plans to take down the Crimea bridge.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65245065

According to the document, dated 23 March, the UK has the largest contingent of special forces in Ukraine (50), followed by fellow Nato states Latvia (17), France (15), the US (14) and the Netherlands (1).

There have been official western troops not operating as mercenaries in Ukraine for quite some time

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago

The document does not say where the forces are located or what they are doing.

This is the part that makes all the difference in the world. Even though we all know special operations forces are acting in Ukraine, unless you can prove they’re taking orders directly from their respective nations they are no different from a foreign fighter. Throw in the fact that Ukraine is wearing western uniforms themselves there is no way to distinguish an SAS or Green Beret operative from a Ukrainian. This is what makes Macrons troop comment significant. These will be known French troops out in the open taking orders from France.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

Keep in mind that from the Europeans perspective the Americans have pulled massive amounts of money out.

I don't think they've comprehended that yet

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago

Extremely drunk Orson Welles voice:

"AhhhhhhHHH the French"

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago

oui oui monsieur a second baguette has hit the Eiffel Tower

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago

All bark and no bite

[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

If they do this it has to be the French Foreign Legion. It won't cause many domestic issues and they don't have family connections in France so if they all die it won't matter to anyone there.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It’ll also be a good propaganda push. “Look at these epic tactical operators from all ethnicities and backgrounds united against the ruzzians! We shall honor their sacrifice and make them posthumous citizens!”

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Yeah of all the nato countries France is fairly unique in being able to perform this. The UK still has some foreign regiments but they're kinda specialist and hidden within other units. There's the Gurkhas but I'm not particularly sure how Nepal would react if it heard its citizens were being sent by the British to go fight alongside of nazis... I would hope it would be very VERY bad for the British government and the continuation of operating their recruitment and bases in Nepal but I have no idea how Nepalese politics on this matter really looks. I'd love to see those bases shut down and the British kicked out. It's possible that Nepal just doesn't want to create several thousand very angry people out of the relatively well paid (for nepal) Gurkhas with British military training.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

Without their daily wine rations, they'll collapse faster than an improperly baked soufflé

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

True or merely a bluff, escalating things in this way did just that - escalate the conflict. Who knew?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Me when some Western mercenary gets domed: lea-caramelldansen

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