France intends to strengthen assistance to Ukraine and supply more military equipment to defend against Russia, the Elysee Palace reported following an emergency defense council, writes on Saturday, February 26, the French Le Parisien.
“A decision was made on the additional supply of military equipment to the Ukrainian authorities,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.
According to the French General Staff, more than 9.5 thousand French soldiers will be mobilized at the end of next week.
“We will have more than 1,500 French troops directly participating in NATO missions to strengthen positions on the eastern flank,” the headquarters told AFP.
Around 500 troops will be deployed to Romania, in addition to the 300 already deployed in Estonia. About 100 more military personnel will accompany the forthcoming arrival of four Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets, designed to “strengthen the air defense of the Baltic countries,” the source said.
About 600 more soldiers are mobilized for defensive flights in the skies of Poland. Since February 24, France has been participating in the defense of the Polish sky with two missions a day, the headquarters specified. About 8,000 French troops “are part of the NATO Rapid Response Force.”
On Saturday, February 26, it became known about Germany’s intention to supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from the Bundeswehr stocks so that it could defend itself against Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
Germany has also approved the shipment by the Netherlands of 400 German-made anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, federal government sources said. The Netherlands will be able to send Kiev 400 “faustpatrons” – ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles).
At the same time, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted on February 12 that Ukraine was already “stuffed” with NATO weapons, and the number of Western instructors had increased many times in recent months.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
On February 21, the heads of the DPR and LPR Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the independence of the republics. The corresponding decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
