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Update: April 13, 2024: French Foreign Legion arrives in Ukraine
The first group of French Foreign Legion mercenaries have arrived at the Ukrainian military HQ in Slavyansk in Donetsk, according to the Telegram channel Military Chronicle.
An initial group of 100 soldiers have arrived in the city, which is controlled by Kiev. It includes artillery reconnaissance specialists and engineers whose specialization is fortification and construction of field fortifications. These are part of the 3rd infantry regiment of the French Foreign Legion and have joined forces with the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At present the Legionnaires move around the city accompanied by Ukrainian soldiers. It is assumed that the French will assist the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the defense of Slavyansk.
The move has dangerous significance because although the French Foreign Legion are deployed from Paris, its members are made up of foreign mercenaries. This allows France to claim that no French soldiers or military are involved. Nonetheless, Moscow will view this as being extremely close to being, if not an actual deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in further suggestions that Macron has taken a personal stance against Russian President Putin, Russian military trainers have arrived to reinforce Niger’s air defenses as the country pulls away from close cooperation with France, turning instead to Moscow for help as it fights Islamist insurgents and regain state control over its Uranium industry from French industrialists, who have allegedly been paying way below market price for Niger’s raw Uranium.
NATO – and the European Union’s concerns will be whether Macron is overstepping the mark as concerns French involvement in Ukraine against Russia as retaliation for the French being forced out of its African colonies.
The French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up dangerous rhetoric with Russia in an apparent push to punish Russia for helping Niger expel French soldiers and take back control of its Uranium resources. Niger has been Frances’s main source of Uranium over the decades, however a military coup has seen an-anti-colonist government take control of the country. The Wagner Group were involved in supporting the Niger military in expelling the French. Other African countries, including Mali, have also cancelled colonial-era agreements with France claiming they were exploitative. Mali borders Niger.
That has escalated matters between Paris and Moscow with a furious Macron stating that French soldiers will be deployed to Odessa to counter Russian advances. Moscow has responded by fining several French retail investors in Russia for tax evasion and has passed control of the Agroterra assets to a Russian Federal agency. While Agroterra involves mainly US business interests rather than French – the message is unmistakable – as the decree that allowed the transfer of assets to take place is aimed specifically at companies from ‘unfriendly countries’. In Russia itself, French investors are now beginning to feel the heat.
The Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia (AVVR) has also appealed to the Russian authorities with a proposal to introduce import duties of 200% on wine from NATO countries as a measure “to protect the Russian market.” That impacts other nations but again, especially France.
The situation could become serious. If Macron holds fast on deploying French troops directly to Odessa, it will mean that NATO becomes directly involved with the conflict, an issue Moscow has expressly warned against. It also pits Paris against Brussels strategy in the EU.
A further military complication for France is that just to the West of Odessa lies Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova long supported by the Russian military. Any conflict there would open up a second front in Europe and widen the existing conflict beyond Ukraine.
France, having its nose rubbed in the mud in Africa, is in danger of becoming a loose cannon in Europe. Macron’s tantrums aside, be aware that Russia-France tensions are becoming highly volatile in Ukraine.
Further Reading
Russia & The African Continent
There is a comprehensive analysis of Russia’s involvement in Africa in Chapter Ten, titled “Russia & the African Continent” in our downloadable 2024 Russia’s Pivot To Asia Guide. A complimentary download is available here.
