French President Emmanuel Macron has taken significant steps toward forming a coalition of military trainers who would work within Ukraine preparing the country’s soldiers to face Russian forces. Macron expressed his desire for a coalition, stating that several partners have already agreed, and he will use the coming days to finalize the largest possible coalition capable of responding to Ukraine’s request.
During a press conference in Paris on Friday, Macron did not identify the countries, other than France, that would be committing trainers to work inside Ukraine. He emphasized that sending specialists to provide training within Ukraine should not provoke a response from Russia. We are not at war with Russia,” Macron said, adding that they do not want an escalation but want to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression.
Macron’s comments came shortly after hosting a visit by Ukraine’s President, Vladimir Zelensky. On Thursday, the French president announced that France would send Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Kiev and train Ukrainian pilots, with an estimated completion date of around the end of this year for having pilots ready to fly the warplanes.
In addition to the French forces training approximately 10,000 Ukrainian troops in France and other NATO countries, Lithuania and Estonia have also publicly suggested their willingness to deploy instructors inside Ukraine. In fact, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated last month that NATO trainers were already operating in the battle-torn country.
However, Russian officials have warned that any foreign military personnel within Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets for attack, regardless of their duties and locations. The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized Macron’s “belligerent rhetoric” and provocative statements as escalating the crisis in Ukraine. Macron initially began making public comments about the possibility of troop deployments to Ukraine in February, which led to pushback from some NATO allies and a Kremlin warning that this move would inevitably lead to a direct conflict with Russia. US President Joe Biden reportedly rejected Macron’s proposal to send instructors to Kiev, citing concerns that they could be in the line of fire and potentially escalate the situation further.