France to Deploy Foreign Legion Troops to Ukraine Amidst Russian Incursion
Analyst Stephen Bryen, in an interview with "Asia Times," reported that France will send its troops to Ukraine. Around a hundred soldiers from the 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment are to be sent to Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine to assist the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in repelling the Russian incursion in Donbas.
In 2022, many Ukrainians served in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion. Following the outbreak of the war, they were allowed to return to their homeland and join the Ukrainian army. Analyst Stephen Bryen, former Deputy Secretary of Defence of the USA during Ronald Reagan's presidency, indicates that now France will go a step further and send its soldiers to Ukraine.
France plans to send 100 soldiers to Ukraine initially, although Bryen suggests that eventually, 1,500 military personnel from the Foreign Legion will be deployed there. Units will be stationed directly in the combat area to help Ukrainians face the Russian incursion in Donbas. The first group will include artillery and observation specialists.
At the end of February, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that only defeating Russia can guarantee European peace. Hence, he did not dismiss the possibility that sending soldiers to Ukraine in the future might become necessary. The United States is expected to oppose this strongly.
According to Bryen, France's decision to send soldiers of the Foreign Legion represents "a kind of compromise." He explained, "The decision to send Foreign Legionnaires is, itself, a peculiar French compromise. France is not deploying its home army and, besides the small number of officers, the men sent are not French citizens".
"Key question" regarding the dispatch of French soldiers to Ukraine
Bryen mentions that "the key question" concerns how Russia and NATO will react to France's decision. In his view, by making such a decision independently, France could not demand support from NATO under Article 5.
Should the Russians attack French troops outside of Ukraine it would be justified because France has decided to be a combatant, and forcing an Article 5 vote would seem to be difficult if not impossible, points out Stephen Bryen in an interview with "Asia Times".
He added that this does not preclude individual NATO members from supporting the French in terms of logistics and communication. He highlighted that the Foreign Legion cannot reach Ukraine without passing through Poland.
Neither France nor the Ukrainian side have officially confirmed these sensational reports.
