On D-Day Anniversary, Paris Will Move Closer to Eye of the Russia-Ukraine Storm

President Macron loves attention, and he is about to get it. That is partly because of the calendar and partly because of his own robust ego. On June 6, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the press will be fixing its gaze on the wide beaches of Normandy and world leaders who, like President Biden, who will be attending the commemoration. According to French broadcaster TF1, Mr. Macron will also use the occasion to announce the creation of a European coalition, ostensibly French-led, to send military trainers to Ukraine.That prospect may be welcome news for Ukraine, but it isn’t welcome in Russia, which, incidentally, was not invited to the D-Day anniversary. It prompted the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, to say that “Whatever they are classified, the instructors represent a completely legitimate target for our armed forces.”For his part the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that “It doesn’t matter whether they’re French or not.”That is all a bit like what was said when there was floated the hypothesis, supported by Kyiv, that fighter jets flown by Ukrainian pilots could depart from bases located outside their territory to avoid being hit on the ground by the Russians. Moscow made it clear that any installation, even in NATO countries, would be seen as a target.No such plane has seemingly ever been placed at airports outside Ukraine and it is thought that this will not happen even for the F16s donated by various European states which are slated to enter service this summer. But America and many NATO countries have agreed that Western weapons delivered to Ukraine can be used against military targets in Russian territory.So the prospect of French and other European military trainers on the ground in Ukraine is inching closer to reality. Last week Ukraine said that French military instructors had obtained the green light from the Elysée to travel to Ukraine, while Russia’s foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, told the state news agency Tass that Moscow had “confirmation … coming in on reports that France is preparing to send its troops to Ukraine.”Whether any of that happens, President Macron’s verbal gymnastics on the issue — “in a dynamic situation, nothing should be ruled out,” he said in February — has ratcheted up tensions between Paris and Moscow just as another summer of war starts to heat up. Over the weekend, a trio of men left five coffins draped with the French flag marked with the words “French soldiers of Ukraine” near the Eiffel Tower. The French external security directorate, or DGSE, has indicated it believes Moscow was behind the stunt. Russia denies that. Mr. Macron is aware that the history of Franco-Russian relations is a tangled one. His ego also suffered some serious bruising after he made a number of fruitless phone calls to President Putin in 2022, earning him widespread criticism and outright derision. By pushing for trainers in Ukraine, with France at the vanguard, he could also be seeking to turn the tables and show Mr. Putin that not all the dynamics of the conflict are in Russia’s hands. In the meantime, President Zelensky will be in France this week. The optics of the Mr. Zelensky’s presence in Normandy will be seen to mark the convergence of European history and future — and are also meant as an elbow to a visibly sidelined Moscow.Beyond the visual punch of the D-Day anniversary events, there is also business at hand. Mr. Macron may be giving a cold shoulder to Israel, but with Ukraine it is a different story. On Friday, the day after the commemorative ceremonies in Normandy, President Zelensky will travel to Versailles for a meeting with the minister of the armed forces, Sébastien Lecornu, and a delegation of French and European arms manufacturers. This portion of Mr. Zelensky’s visit can be expected to take place away from the cameras — the official ones, anyway. The cat-and-mouse game between Paris and Moscow is likely to escalate in the coming weeks and indeed in the run-up to the American presidential election in November. Another elephant in the room, of course, is Beijing. This week is all about Mr. Macron basking in the glow of Gallic influence, despite its limitations, and even if it is a power partially imagined.

On D-Day Anniversary, Paris Will Move Closer to Eye of the Russia-Ukraine Storm

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