The French chief of staff, Thierry Burkhard, announced today on Friday that Moscow was preparing France “its main enemy in Europe” from the continuing Parisian support of Ukraine.
General Burguhard emphasized the press conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is the one who said it himself … This does not mean that he ignores other countries, and also does not mean that he focuses only on us”, noting that Russia has accepted non -traditional hybrid activities in its relations with Western countries.
He explained that Russia does not threaten France, a nuclear force protected by a deterrence policy with a direct and strong attack on its soil, but it resorted to several options, such as disinformation of the media, electronic attacks and espionage.
He described Russia as a “destabilizing force”, which is involved in all “threats”, from sabotage of marine infrastructure and disinformation campaigns in France and Africa to espionage, and even through its satellite maneuvers aimed at preventing or approaching our signs for violation or espionage. ”
On the Marine Field, the chief of staff said that “Russian offensive nuclear submarines regularly penetrate north of the Atlantic Ocean, and sometimes go down to the Mediterranean Sea, in order to control the vital areas for us and the British, which are another main supporter of Ukraine and are an important goal for Moscow.”
In airspace, he spoke of “frequent friction and interactions” with Russian aircraft, whether in the Black Sea or over Syria and in the Mediterranean Sea and “sometimes in relatively remote areas north of the Atlantic Ocean”.