France consents to Ukraine’s use of its own missiles against targets on Russian soil, its Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barot clarified today, again provoking threatening comments from Moscow. Thus, after the USA and Great Britain, it becomes the third country in a row to allow such a thing in the “framework of self-defense”, as the French politician explained, essentially expressing the opinion of President Emmanuel Macron.

Pressure is mounting in Germany

This statement was made to the BBC for obvious reasons and while the… fourth party, Germany, seems to be moving at least timidly or even tacitly in the corresponding direction, with the relative pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to agree to the launch of corresponding Taurus-type systems to increase daily. Mr. Barro declined to specify whether such use has already been made, as Ukraine after the initial “OK” from the US has started to launch longer-range missiles, namely ATACMS from the US and Storm Shadow missiles from the UK.

“Our fixed position” say the French

For the French minister, this decision is not new in terms of its essence, since support for Ukraine’s “defense measures” is a given and inescapable. A French foreign ministry spokesman said President Emmanuel Macron had already stated during his official visit to Germany in May that Ukraine must be able to neutralize Russian military targets directly involved in operations against its territory. “International law is clear: Ukraine has the right to defend itself.”

French soldiers at the front?

Asked by the journalist about Emmanuel Macron’s hints about the participation of French soldiers in the field of war, Barro refrained from giving a specific interpretation: “What President Macron said is that we should not set and express red lines. We should maintain a strategic ambiguity so that we do not say what we must or must not do. And that’s why we don’t reject any option publicly.”

Britain and France are marching together

In July 2023, France joined forces with the UK to begin supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles – the French name for the identical missiles is Scalp. Now Paris is apparently again sending a message of sympathy to London, but it is also implicitly calling on Berlin to overcome its misgivings. It is recalled that shortly before the American elections, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Kier Starmer and Olaf Scholz met in the German capital to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Only the latter has no longer given the green light for strikes inside Russian territory.

Poisonous comments from Moscow

Moscow strongly criticized the French foreign minister’s comments. Authorizing the use of long-range missiles against Russia is not support for Ukraine, but rather a death blow for the country, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run Tass news agency. As is known, Vladimir Putin considers such strikes as direct involvement of the Western Alliance in the war and has threatened with “due consequences”.

How will the war end?

To the British journalist’s question about what are the prospects of a peaceful conclusion through negotiations, since President Zelensky denies such a thing, the French Foreign Minister avoided giving a clear answer:

“I believe that until the Ukrainians decide that the moment for peace has come, our only responsibility is to support them as much as possible, to give them the strongest possible helping hand. Europe will have to stand tall in order to ensure and support its security in a world that will not resemble the world we knew before the start of this war of aggression. This means stronger cooperation across the European continent. Given the world we live in, we should do more defensively. Of course, we will have to spend more if we want to do more. And I think we have to face these new challenges.”

Sources: BBC, ARD