Ukraine updates: Russia warns France against sending troops

Macron most recently said in a magazine interview that he would not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow would view any French soldiers deployed in Ukraine as legitimate targets.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the warning was in response to renewed comments from French President Emmanuel Macron raising the possibility. He has said he cannot rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it has already seen an increasing number of French citizens among battlefield fatalities on the Ukrainian side.

In other Ukraine news, Russian drones hit nearly a dozen critical energy facilities as part of Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine’s power grid.

Here’s a look at the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Wednesday, May 8:

Germany’s Pistorius urges more Ukraine support in US, Canada tour

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has appealed for further joint support for Ukraine, at the beginning of a military policy trip to North America.

On his first stop in the United States, Pistorius emphasized Germany’s increased contribution to NATO in an address to representatives of the American Jewish Committee in New York.

The minister said Russian President Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to succeed in his war of aggression.

“It is a question of whether and how democracies defend themselves,” said Pistorius.

The center-left politician is set to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington on Thursday and Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair in Ottawa on Friday.

Ukraine has been defending itself from an all-out Russian invasion since February 24, 2022, with huge amounts of Western weaponry and financial aid.

Russia hits Lviv in wave of drone and missile attacks

The Ukrainian air force says it downed a barrage of Russian missiles and drones fired overnight into Wednesday targeting energy infrastructure.

However, nearly a dozen critical energy sites were hit, including two in the Lviv region, in Ukraine’s far west.

Moscow has recently intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, triggering blackouts and electricity rationing across the country.

“The enemy used 76 means of air attack — 55 missiles and 21 attack drones,” the air force said on Telegram. The statement said air defense systems had intercepted 39 missiles and 20 drones.

Authorities said an 8-year-old child was wounded in the central Kirovograd region while falling debris in the area surrounding Kyiv wounded two people.

The capital was placed on alert for three hours as Russian forces launched several cruise missiles against it.

“Rockets entered Kyiv from different directions — all air targets in the area of the capital were destroyed,” Kyiv’s military administration said.

The strikes targeted energy infrastructure facilities in at least six regions, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said.

Authorities have already been forced to impose rolling blackouts in several regions because of the attacks.

“The enemy has not abandoned plans to deprive Ukrainians of light,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

Russia warns France to stay out of Ukraine

Russia has warned that any French troops sent to Ukraine would be treated as legitimate targets by Moscow’s military.

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy in February by saying he was not prepared to rule out deploying ground troops in Ukraine. Macron made the statement as he warned that Europe’s credibility would be reduced to zero if Russia were to win in Ukraine.

Russia’s latest statement came after the French president repeated the idea earlier this month in an interview with The Economist magazine.

“It is characteristic that Macron himself explains this rhetoric with the desire to create some kind of ‘strategic uncertainty’ for Russia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press briefing.

“We have to disappoint him — for us the situation looks more than certain,” Zakharova said.

Zakharova said growing numbers of French nationals were already appearing among those killed in Ukraine.

“If the French appear in the conflict zone, they will inevitably become targets for the Russian armed forces. It seems to me that Paris already has proof of this.”

On Monday, Russia said it would practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons amid threats from France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

rc/nm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)