Russian Official Warns Macron: Threatens to Eliminate Any French Soldiers in Ukraine
In an exclusive discussion with BFMTV, Piotr Tolstoï, the Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma, issued a stark warning to France and its leader about the potential deployment of French forces to Ukraine.
The prospect of sending French troops to aid Ukraine amidst its conflict with Russia has been floated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has emphasized France's unlimited support for Kyiv. In response, Tolstoï starkly declared on BFMTV, "We will kill every French soldier that sets foot on Ukrainian soil."
Tolstoï, known for his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, dismissed Macron's stance with disdain. "We don't care about his opinion. We don't care about Macron, what he says, or his limits," he stated bluntly.
He further cautioned, "You, the French, contemplating sending soldiers to Odessa, are flirting with the onset of World War III," referring to comments attributed to Macron—which the French government has vehemently denied.
Tolstoï theorized a grim outcome should French casualties mount: "If 300 or 400 French are killed, your president will find himself ensnared, forced to either escalate the conflict, increase troop presence, or withdraw."
He claimed, "Currently, there are 13,000 mercenaries in Ukraine, including 367 French, with 147 already killed"—figures BFMTV could not verify. Tolstoï ominously added, "And we will kill them all, do not worry."
"The French must understand the repercussions"
Tolstoï starkly predicted that sending French troops to Ukraine would result in coffins draped in the French flag returning to Orly Airport, emphasizing, "And it won't be Macron fetching them. The French must grasp the consequences."
This warning comes amid reports from the Russian news agency Tass, which quoted Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, claiming France plans to deploy 2,000 soldiers to Ukraine—a claim the French Ministry of the Armed Forces has labeled as misinformation.
For weeks, Macron has maintained a stance of "strategic ambiguity" about the possible deployment of Western troops to support Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky against the Russian invasion that began in February 2022. Macron argued against setting limits on support for Ukraine, suggesting such restraint equates to choosing defeat.
When questioned about the conflict's progression, Tolstoï expressed a belief that "Ukraine will never exist within its pre-war borders again." He underscored, "For us, this is an existential matter. We will not stop; we will not withdraw our troops."