“Disagreements over sending troops to Ukraine are just the tip of the iceberg in much tougher negotiations over the country’s ‘militarization,’ according to numerous European sources who are increasingly speaking out openly.”

🧵 “Nearly two months after Donald Trump officially launched peace negotiations between the Russians and Americans over the fate of Ukraine, the series of summits and meetings at all levels among Kyiv’s Western allies increasingly resembles a long, endless tunnel.”

Photographer Adrien Vautier accompanied the fighting units on the front line encircling Pokrovsk for Le Monde.

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lemonde.fr/international/… The gunners took up positions in houses with cellars that had been abandoned by civilians. They only leave when the order to fire is given.

“Helping Kyiv is therefore not only a moral obligation, but also an investment in our own security. Ukraine is fighting heroically for us and for our future.” — @partisocialiste

The Social Democrats advocate greater strategic autonomy, higher military spending and increased military aid to Ukraine.

parti-socialiste.fr/en_ukraine_d_f… “Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, but also for ours: as socialists we must be the driving force behind its resistance and reconstruction.”

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“I am going to say [to Donald Trump], ‘deep down, you can not be weak in the face of President Putin. This is not you. This is not your trademark. How can you be credible in the face of China if you are weak in the face of Putin ?” — @EmmanuelMacron

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https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1892628619895439745

Emmanuel Macron believes that “our security and France’s interests are at stake” as the United States and Russia begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine.

“Already 24 Ukrainian [aspiring pilots] have undergone initial training in the United Kingdom. The [RAF] hopes to train 20 per year. The trainee pilots will then leave for France in spring 2025, where they will continue their training for six months on faster aircraft (Alphajets, also used by the Patrouille de France). Then, they will go to Romania to actually fly the F-16s.”

🧵 “For six months, the ten Ukrainian soldiers will be trained by the Royal Air Force, who will teach them the basics of navigation and flying on combat aircraft, as well as the basics of English as part of the Interstorm programme.”

“Few days ago I reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Zelensky) about the situation in the 155th Brigade and the decisions, made by the Land Forces Command to support the unit and resolve problematic issues voiced by both the servicemen and journalists.”

🧵 “I explained the situation, told about the reasons and those who are responsible. I also met with the brigade commanders and French journalists, who currently work in the unit and visit positions to see with their own eyes how the soldiers of ‘Anna de Kyiv’ perform combat missions and operate the weapons provided by France.”

“In his book, as in the European Parliament, Jordan Bardella turns away from the past Russophilia of the National Rally. But he maintains a delicate balance between the two lines that coexist on the far right.” — @JeuneGuillou

🧵 “The Russophiles of the National Rally (RN) call him the ‘Atlanticist’, which is not a kind word. (...) Pierre-Romain Thionnet is the man who has brought sincere support for Ukraine into the far-right party.”

According to a study by the Descartes Foundation, which measures the penetration of foreign narratives on contemporary conflicts in France and analyses the factors that make the population sensitive to these narratives, 69.6% of French people believe that France must continue its military support for Ukraine, while 15.4% think it should stop.

🧵 ✅️ 19.5% agree, and ❌️ 67.6% disagree with the following statement : “Russia was forced to attack Ukraine to defend itself against the expansion of NATO (the military alliance of European and North American countries) on its border.”

“As the conflict in Ukraine enters a new phase of escalation, discussions on the deployment of Western troops and private defence companies on Ukrainian soil have been reactivated, Le Monde has learned from reliable sources.”

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lemonde.fr/international/… “Sensitive debates, essentially classified, but well and truly relaunched, especially in the perspective of a possible American withdrawal of support for Kyiv after Donald Trump takes office in the United States on 20 January 2025.”

“If we look at the world as it has changed since 2022, we can probably say to ourselves that perhaps we should have taken more risks to avoid this conflict in Ukraine. Obviously, it is easier to say after than before...” — @CEMA_FR

🧵🧵 “The second lesson from this conflict is that it is a high-intensity war, involving the whole country, and tending quite quickly towards total war. This raises the question of sustainability. If the Ukrainians stop fighting 100%, they will disappear.”

“France is investing for a future as a leader among NATO’s European member states. French forces lead NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Romania, and French planes, ships and forces are working alongside other Allied forces from the Baltic to the Black Sea to bolster the Alliance’s Eastern Flank.”

🧵 “France is also working directly and with Allies to support Ukraine’s valiant self-defence efforts – from donating substantial advanced weaponry systems to hosting Ukrainian recruits in France for training.”

“I plead for a Europe that is back on the offensive, defending our values, our security, and supporting the Ukrainians against Russia’s war of aggression.” — @benjaminhaddad

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https://twitter.com/benjaminhaddad/status/1851531257332613539

“We must not be naïve. We have seen for years that Russia is tempted to use all the grey areas of our continent as a theatre of influence and interference.”

While the land army is less engaged in the Sahel region and more on the eastern flank of Europe, since returning to @NATO’s Integrated Command, France has pledged to make 4️⃣0️⃣ combat aircraft available to the Alliance in the event of a conflict.

🧵🧵🧵🧵 This commitment is not new, but recent geopolitical developments have changed its status.

In his article, Fabrice Wolf explains why the French Air Force is missing 9️⃣5️⃣ fighter jets and 1️⃣2️⃣ from the French Naval Aviation.

In the spring of 2023, as the 🇺🇦 demand for combat aircraft became more urgent, France also offered to train 🇺🇦 pilots on Mirage 2000s.

🧵 However, this proposal was not taken up, as the Ukrainians preferred to be trained on F-16s, the delivery of which had been promised to them by many European states that had them.

“A major strategic breakthrough, the war in Ukraine in the shadow of the nuclear bomb, has reignited debates about the role of this weapon in international relations as a new Cold War emerges.”

🧵🧵🧵🧵 “To invade the invader, you have to dare. Especially when the invader has a large nuclear arsenal and you do not have the bomb. However limited, it may be, with the occupation of some 1,500 square kilometres of Russian territory, the invasion of Kursk by Ukrainian forces on ...”

“Like no other conflict in the past, Russia’s war against Ukraine has demonstrated the enormous utility of missile systems, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and long-range one-way-attack drones.” — @FRHoffmann1

🧵🧵🧵🧵 “While it is in theory possible to fight a modern high-intensity peer-on-peer conflict without access to deep stocks of missile systems, as Ukraine has successfully demonstrated in the first year of the war, doing so puts you at an immediate and severe disadvantage.”

“Imagine the reaction of public opinion if Russian missiles approached French airspace... And remember the debate when a Chinese balloon, which turned out to be harmless, flew over the United States. Here, we are talking about the cruise of missiles!” — @radeksikorski

🧵🧵 In an interview with @lemondefr, 🇵🇱 Foreign Minister Radoslaw justified the need to allow Ukraine to attack military targets on 🇷🇺 territory with long-range missiles.

“As a geographer specialising in Russian-speaking cyberspace, I will provide you with some hot information on Durov's arrest, its geopolitical consequences... and above all, I will take an unexpected opportunity to explain to you the concept of topological powers.”

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https://twitter.com/kevinlimonier/status/1827754859917095350

“First, a few things about Durov. Before he was the founder of Telegram, he was mainly the founder of Vkontakte, the big Russian social network. Durov played an important role in the major anti-Putin demonstrations of 2011-2012, refusing to cooperate with the FSB.”

Hauts-de-France is welcoming two hundred children from Ukraine for a holiday in August, far from the war. An unprecedented initiative in France this summer.

In front of the facade of the Liévin stadium, about fifty children are preparing to sing the Marseillaise.

🧵 But ten days ago, they did not know the words. And with good reason: they come from Ukraine, from Kiev or Kharkiv, where they arrived at the beginning of August after a two-day bus journey.

Launched on 6 August, the Ukrainian offensive entered internationally recognised Russian territory, invading the Kursk region and capturing more territory in a week than Russia had in nine months.

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵 After about ten days of fighting, @AudrandS makes a first assessment and tries to estimate the impact and possible developments.

⬇️ These are not my words ! ⬇️

“No, the tank is not dead, but you have to use it well.” - Colonel Frédéric Jordan.

Destroyed by the thousands on the battlefield, the tank’s use has changed in Ukraine.

🧵 Manufacturers and military officials are reviewing their plans to imagine the tank of the future in the face of new threats and uses.

As Colonel Jordan, interviewed by the Defence Committee in 2022, sums up, the tank is far from being abandoned by the general staff.