France sends combat troops to Ukraine battlefront - Asia Times
asiatimes.com
France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine. They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in
  • Babs [she/her]
    ·
    2 months ago

    No no it's totally not ww3. These aren't actually French soldiers - they just serve the French military under French officers. And they aren't combatants, they're just support troops. Supporting the artillery. Who's to say that it's French people pulling the trigger?

    Totally not a massive escalation.

    • Tunnelvision [they/them]
      ·
      2 months ago

      This is a massive escalation because French foreign legionaries are French troops fighting for France and recognized as such. There is no real legal discrepancy as far as I’m aware because these are not mercenaries. Literally the second one of them is wounded in combat they are automatically a French citizen.

      • D61 [any]
        ·
        2 months ago

        Buuuuut, its a way to get other nationalities into Ukraine under a French flag instead of ... like... the USA's flag.

        • Tunnelvision [they/them]
          ·
          2 months ago

          I very much doubt the US will enter Ukraine. Maybe they’ll send in the 101st like France sent in the legion but that’s probably it. The US’s real interests are in the Middle East and that’s where troop deployment might actually happen if they happen at all.

          • WayeeCool [comrade/them]
            ·
            2 months ago

            very much doubt the US will enter Ukraine

            US JSOC troops have been fighting in Ukraine since before the Russian invasion. The first month of the war saw a sudden uptick in US special forces killed in training accidents and new unnamed stars going up on the walls of the CIA lobby in Langley. Same shit happened in the month following Oct 7 and Gaza.

            At the bare minimum Green Berets have been deployed the entire time attached to Ukrainian units as "advisors". None of it is a controversy or escalation because the US has JSOC special operations soldiers and CIA paramilitary soldiers doing black ops shenanigans in most conflict zones around the globe. They are like cockroachs.

            • Tunnelvision [they/them]
              ·
              2 months ago

              I understand believe me, but the distinction is those are all technically foreign legionaries not operating under JSOC officially although that’s only a legal distinction. The French foreign legion are the first boots on the ground from a nato country fighting under their national colors and not as a legionary in a Ukrainian uniform. The US will not send in an army of us troops in us uniforms is what I’m getting at. The US has in my opinion fully committed itself to the middle eastern crisis.

              • WayeeCool [comrade/them]
                ·
                2 months ago

                You are right about that. The French Foreign Legion aren't black operations soldiers but rank and file military. The French equivalent to US JSOC units are their Commandement des Opérations Spéciales units.

                This recent action by France is equivalent to the US deploying a USMC expeditionary force near the Ukrainian frontlines.