Today, as reported by Guy Faulconbridge (left),
"Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief has said French President Emmanuel Macron's refusal to rule out sending European troops to fight Russian soldiers in Ukraine was extremely dangerous and irresponsible.
...
Asked about Macron's remarks, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence
Service (SVR), the main successor to the KGB's First Directorate foreign spying section, said they were deeply irresponsible." (Reuters : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)
This response of Sergei Naryshkin (right) follows on from the report of Warren Murray that,
"Emmanuel Macron (left) has urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting its fight against the Russian invasion. He “fully stood behind” remarks made last week not ruling out the deployment of western troops. “We are surely approaching a moment for Europe in which it will be necessary not to be cowards,” the French president said on a visit to the Czech Republic." (The Guardian : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)
Sky News Australia : 6 March 2024 : YouTube
Was Macron specifically referring to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when urging Ukraine's EU allies "not to be “cowards” in supporting its fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
"Scholz's government has lately been resisting pressure to share one of its most powerful military assets with the Ukrainians just when they need it most.
...
According to Benjamin Tallis, Senior Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations,"Following the Taurus leak, it seems that what Scholz is really afraid of is the weapon's effectiveness. This betrays his position of not wanting Ukraine to win – and it's an approach that lets down all Europeans by making us less safe." (Euronews : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis) What further betrays Scholz's position of not wanting Ukraine to win is the recent relocation of 5,000 German troops to Lithuania "amid mounting concerns about a potential attack from Moscow, whose Kaliningrad enclave borders Lithuania, along with its ally Belarus. (Euronews : 29 February 2024) (my emphasis)"
Admittedly, these German troops have been deployed as NATO troops in defence of a NATO member.
But cowering behind NATO's Article 5 as an excuse not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine further underscores the argument of Benjamin Tallis that Scholz simply does not want Ukraine to win in its war with Putin.
As was reported by Nathan Rennolds (left),
"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticized for a
"flagrant abuse of intelligence" after he appeared to suggest British
and French soldiers had been helping Ukraine fire missiles they had
supplied.
Scholz made the comments while explaining his reluctance to send Germany's long-range Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine, which he said risked the country becoming directly involved in the war.
...
"What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany. Everyone who has dealt with this system knows that," he said, The Associated Press reported.
"German soldiers must at no point and in no place be linked to targets this system reaches," he added." (Business Insider : 29 February 2024) (my emphasis)
And whilst Scholz is cowering behind NATOS's Article 5,
- Ukrainian intelligence says seven people have been killed and six more injured after a Russian patrol ship was hit and sunk in a sea drone attack. (Thomas Mackintosh : BBC News : 5 March 2024) (my emphasis)
- Ukraine shot down 38 of the 42 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on March 6, the Air Force said in its morning update. (Olena Goncharova : Yahoo News : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)
- Coalition members funding the short-term purchases [of ammunition for Ukraine] include Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Czech Republic and the United States, among others, Wouda told Reuters."Collectively we have actually found opportunities around the world to find ammunition in other places, outside of Europe," he said, declining to identify those places. (Anthony Deutsch and Jan Lopatka : Reuters : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)
- Ukraine
has hinted that it was responsible for destroying a railway bridge in
the Russian region of Samara, some 600 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said in post on messaging site
Telegram that the blast had “paralysed” traffic in the area. (Chris Samuel : Express : 4 March 2024) (my emphasis)
- And in a significant political development reported by Joel Gehrke, "India is working to secure the return of citizens who say they were conned into fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine. “We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian army,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a Monday statement." (Washington Examiner : 26 February 2024) (my emphasis)
- As also reported by Rebecca Robinson, "A distressing plea has emerged from a group of young men from India who claim to have been deceived into military service in Russia's war against Ukraine.... Subsequently apprehended by Belarusian authorities and handed over to Russian forces, they were coerced into signing undisclosed documents, effectively conscripting them into military service." (Express : 5 March 2024) (my emphasis)
The recent euphoria of Putin and his 'siloviki' over the fall of Avdiivka has now been eclipsed :-
- by Macron not ruling out the deployment of western troops in Ukraine,
- by Scholz being inexorably forced towards supplying Ukraine with Tausus missile,
- by Ukraine gaining the momentum in pushing back Putin's forces,
- and by the India government pursuing the return of forced Indian conscripts into Putin's army.
In Ukraine, Winter is now turning into Spring in its war with Putin.
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