Russia claims France could send up to 1,500 troops to Ukraine in April

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that France could send up to 1,500 troops to Ukraine in April.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Zakharova said the command staff of the French Foreign Legion formed in early March a battalion tactical group with intentions to dispatch it to Ukraine.

"New intelligence about Paris' active preparation of a military contingent for sending to Ukraine keeps coming up. To this end, the command of the French Foreign Legion in early March approved the composition of a battalion tactical group of about 1,500 people. The group is expected to be put in a state of full combat readiness for airlift to the Ukrainian theater of operations in April," she said.

In February, French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, an idea rejected by allies.

Sergey Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, claims France has begun preparing around 2,000 troops for deployment, while some of the French military have already been fighting in Ukraine.