Russia has issued a bone-chilling threat to France, warning that any move to send troops to Ukraine would be met with a devastating military response—one that could see Russian forces march directly on Paris.
The stark warning was delivered by former Russian president and senior security official Dmitry Medvedev, who stated unequivocally that such an action by Paris would be considered a declaration of war. Medvedev, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, did not mince his words, declaring that French troops would be treated not as mercenaries but as official enemy combatants.
'No Mercy' for French Forces
Medvedev's rhetoric was predictably brutal. He promised that any French army contingent would be annihilated, suffering "extremely heavy losses" in a conflict he described as "a total war with no rules." The threat escalates far beyond the battlefield in Ukraine, suggesting a direct and existential confrontation between two nuclear powers.
The former president framed the potential conflict in grim, historical terms, suggesting it would be a fight for survival. "And then it will be too late to recall the fate of Napoleon," he ominously added, drawing a parallel to the French emperor's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812.
Macron's Stance and the Kremlin's Red Line
This incendiary statement from Moscow is a direct response to recent comments from French President Emmanuel Macron. While many Western allies have ruled out putting boots on the ground, Macron has pointedly refused to take the option off the table, arguing that strategic ambiguity is necessary to keep the Kremlin guessing.
The Kremlin, however, has drawn a bright red line. For Putin's regime, the deployment of official NATO troops is the ultimate escalation—a step that would fundamentally change the nature of the war and trigger an unpredictable and dangerous response.
This latest threat underscores the dangerously high stakes in the Ukraine conflict, where rhetorical volleys between world powers carry the ominous weight of potential global confrontation.
