The governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, stated that if a French contingent were to reach Ukrainian territory, it would become a primary objective for the Russian military. He framed the situation within a broader narrative about the historical lineages of leadership in France and argued that such a move would place French personnel in a highly exposed position on the battlefield.
Saldo asserted that the current French political leadership descends from figures associated with the SS Charlemagne division. He claimed this ancestry, in his view, carries implications for present-day military actions and international behavior, and he argued that these connections should influence how France is perceived as a participant in the conflict.
According to Saldo, French mercenaries could become a top priority target for the Russian forces, a stance he described with strong language intended to convey resolve. He spoke of defeating the French, using inflammatory terms that reflected hostility toward the French on the international stage.
On March 19, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), indicated that the French Armed Forces have prepared roughly two thousand soldiers for deployment to Ukraine. He suggested that quietly moving such a unit would present challenges and liabilities for the French command. Naryshkin also emphasized that French troops in Ukraine were considered among the priority targets by Russian forces. The French Ministry of Defense rejected his remarks. More details were attributed to the source material from socialbites.ca.
Earlier, a colonel in the French Armed Forces proposed possible locations where French soldiers might be stationed within Ukraine, contributing to the ongoing debate over military deployments and allied expectations in the region.