Yevheniia Kutnova: Regarding possible further scenarios, it is known that Macron will discuss the deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine with Poland. Essentially, the idea is that around 5 brigades would be stationed on Ukrainian territory along the demarcation line, requiring 40,000 military personnel, with Poland proposed to lead one of these brigades. Roman Hryhorovych, when we talk about such a scenario, do you think Poland would agree to this in principle, considering the statements made by the Minister of Defense, who mentioned that sending Polish troops to Ukraine is not possible? And in light of Macron’s attempts and statements, can we also consider that France is ready to send its troops as well?
Roman Svitan: There are several aspects to this question. First, what does “line of demarcation” mean? Does it mean the line of combat engagement on the Eastern Front? Essentially, this would mean halting combat operations, freezing hostilities, deploying, say, French troops there, and permanently losing our territories. This would be Ukraine’s capitulation. If events unfold this way, France, along with other participants in such processes, would effectively be involved in Ukraine’s capitulation and the annexation of our territories.
In this case, they wouldn’t be protecting us from Putin; instead, they would be protecting Putin’s forces from our troops and from the millions of people who will eventually attempt to return to the territories where they were born. So, in this scenario, France would be siding with Russia to protect Putin. This would be, quite clearly, capitulation. For this, Macron could simply be shot in Kyiv if he behaves in this way, at least with such a proposal. By the way, the same applies to all politicians who will present this as a great victory.
As for the French troops currently being withdrawn from Africa, they have nowhere to go. Why is Macron making such a fuss about them? Thousands of French personnel, or at least those affiliated with France, are now leaving five African republics, from Mali to Niger. Thousands of Foreign Legion soldiers are being withdrawn and need to be stationed somewhere.
They could send them to France; there aren’t major problems there. But instead, they want to station them on our territory. In this sense, we need to act like aikido practitioners, following the principle of aikido: use the opponent’s strength to your advantage. It doesn’t matter whether Macron is siding with Putin or Ukraine; at the very least, he’s trying to find a place for his tens of thousands of Foreign Legion troops. No problem, we can accommodate them.
We have, I’d say, several hundred, if not more than a thousand kilometers of border territory where French troops could be effectively stationed. The first and most immediate options are Sumy Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Kharkiv Oblast.
This refers to the area up to the demarcation line – between Sumy and Kursk, between Chernihiv and Bryansk, and between Belgorod and our Kharkiv Oblast. No problem. For example, the French could be stationed as peacekeepers along the border between Kharkiv and Belgorod. They could set up along the border, deploy their air defense systems and anti-aircraft missile systems, and intercept anything targeting Kharkiv, effectively covering the city. In this sense, there is value in utilizing the French forces.
However, deploying the French, for example, along the right bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson area makes no sense right now. What if, by next year, we’re ready to cross the Dnipro and advance toward liberating Crimea? In that case, why would we need the French there? They’d end up protecting Russian forces and preventing us from carrying out the operation. That would essentially mean working in Moscow’s favor.
This requires a strategic approach. Once again, I emphasize the principle of aikido here – use the opponent’s strength to your advantage. If the French have nowhere to station their troops, no problem – they’re welcome to the Ukraine-Russia border as it was in 1991. After Ukraine is liberated and the Russian army is defeated, then we can consider deploying peacekeeping forces between Ukraine and Russia.
We certainly won’t oppose it. Peacekeeping forces along the borders of 1991? Absolutely, go ahead. But all these stories about freezing hostilities and deploying troops – be it UN or NATO – along the demarcation line are outright actions in Moscow’s favor. This is a clear and direct participation in the annexation of our territories for Moscow’s benefit and the preservation of Russian troops on the occupied territories of Ukraine. That’s working for the enemy.
I’ll say it again: for such actions, people could end up hanging from lampposts in Kyiv. Macron needs to make up his mind – whether he wants to be “smart” or just look “pretty.” His constant waffling in every direction is becoming too much. If this heat continues, and if the French deploy where I suggested – on the Sumy border, the Chernihiv border, and the Kharkiv border – then we could also invite the Poles. No problem there.
There’s no need to deploy them against Russia directly. They could be stationed along the border between Ukraine and Belarus, starting from Poland. That’s about 1,000 kilometers of border – perfectly fine. Polish units can be stationed there. Romanian units, no problem either – they can be deployed along Transnistria, between Ukraine and Moldova, covering the Transnistrian region and dealing with those Transnistrian fanatics.
In this mode, they can definitely be utilized. But in any other mode – if it’s about working for the enemy – then they should be sent on the course of the Russian warship. They all know this course very well and understand it perfectly.
Tags: France hybrid war poland Russia russia ukraine war Ukraine US
