It's been no secret that in Ukraine there will be escalation before any potential ceasefire deal is worked out. The Biden administration is scrambling to try and build Kiev's leverage on the battlefield prior to the Trump administration taking office. This includes the huge provocation of greenlighting long-range missile strikes on Russian territory.
France followed this weekend by approving Ukraine's use of French long-range missiles against Russia, specifically the Scalp missiles. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot declared that this move is in the "logic of self-defense".
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| Prior NATO drills, via Associated Press |
The top French diplomat continued, "We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometer, the threat gets one square kilometer closer to Europe."
BBC interviewer Laura Kuenssberg questioned Barrot on if that could even mean sending French troops into the war. He responded: "We do not discard any option."
Prominent French publication Le Monde on Monday followed by saying serious discussions over injecting Western troops into the war have intensified in the last days:
As the conflict in Ukraine enters a new phase of escalation, discussions over sending Western troops and private defense companies to Ukraine have been revived, Le Monde has learned from corroborating sources. These are sensitive discussions, most of which are classified – relaunched in light of a potential American withdrawal of support for Kyiv once Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.
Britain is once again at the forefront of urging NATO's deeper involvement in the war, which threatens at any moment to explode into WW3 among nuclear-armed powers. Enter Keir Starmer... in the hawkish footsteps of Boris Johnson:
However, it was relaunched in recent weeks thanks to the visit to France of the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, for the November 11th commemorations. "Discussions are underway between the UK and France on defense cooperation, particularly with a view to creating a hard core of allies in Europe, focused on Ukraine and wider European security," confided a British military source to Le Monde.
Jean-Noël Barro's aforementioned words about 'no options' ruled out appears to have been a reflection on these continued 'sensitive' conversations.
There have been more reports of US-supplied ATACMS launches on Russian territory since their initial use last week:
Looks like Khalino airbase in Kursk, where Russia launches drones to attack Ukraine, just got a taste of ATACMS. The guy in the video seems pretty impressed! pic.twitter.com/ui8r0je74p
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) November 25, 2024
Meanwhile, NATO military committee chair, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, warned businesses to be prepared for a 'wartime scenario.'
"If we can make sure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence," said Bauer, adding "We're seeing that with the growing number of sabotage acts, and Europe has seen that with energy supply."
"We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but we actually had a deal with Mr Putin. And the same goes for Chinese-owned infrastructure and goods. We actually have a deal with (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping)."
Bauer noted western dependencies on supplies from China, with 60% of all rare earth materials produced and 90% processed there. He said chemical ingredients for sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and low blood pressure medicines were also coming from China. -Reuters
Astoundingly, the dangerous prospect of Western boots on the ground is actually being mulled even as Russia has showcased the destruction force and long reach of its new hypersonic medium-range missile arsenal.
In the hopefully unlikely scenario that NATO leaders pull the trigger on this, it would probably be before Trump takes office. He has vowed to rapidly wind down the nearly three-year conflict and achieve peace. This has hawks up in arms, worried that this will force Ukraine to cede territory, particularly in the east and south.
