The Russian news agency quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday stating that if France sends its troops to Ukraine, Russia's response will not be limited to political measures. Artyom Studenikov, head of the European Department in the ministry, did not specify the actions Russia would take in such an event but mentioned that Moscow has warned Paris.
Studenikov added that the deployment of French troops to Ukraine would increase the risk of conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his willingness to send troops to Ukraine, asserting in an interview published by The Economist earlier this month that this issue should be "raised" if Moscow breaches the "front lines" and if Kyiv requests such support.
The French president told the British magazine: "If the Russians breach the front lines and if there is a Ukrainian request regarding this, which has not happened yet, we must legitimately raise this issue." He added: "To rule that out now means we have not learned the lessons from the past two years," referring to how NATO countries initially excluded sending tanks and aircraft to Ukraine after the Russian operation began in February 2022, before changing their stance.
