As this publication reported earlier this morning, reports have been circulating that the UK ambassador to the Russian Federation was summoned by the Foreign Ministry. While the UK Foreign Office has not confirmed this, the Russian Foreign Ministry has now confirmed that it summoned the French Ambassador over intelligence it says shows French actions inside Ukraine.
Ambassador Pierre Levy was reported to be seen at the Foreign Ministry at approximately at 0836 EST. He departed 40 minutes later.
Russian Statements Against the French
The announcement from the Russian Foreign Ministry reads below:
“In connection with the increasingly bellicose statements of the French leadership and incoming information about the growing involvement of France in the conflict around Ukraine, on May 6, French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Russian side expressed its principled assessments of Paris’s destructive and provocative policy, which is leading to further escalation of the conflict. It was emphasized that the attempts of the French authorities to create some kind of “strategic uncertainty” for Russia with their irresponsible statements about the possible dispatch of Western military contingents to Ukraine are doomed to failure. The goals and objectives of the special military operation will be fulfilled.”
In addition to this statement, earlier this morning the Russian Foreign Ministry made a much longer statement concerning the tactical nuclear exercises ordered by President Putin that this publication already covered. In that announcement, the Foreign Ministry railed against French rhetoric specifically. That statement reads below:
“French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements about the possibility of sending French and other NATO troops to Ukraine cannot but be striking in their irresponsibility and thoughtlessness. Moreover, the Western media reported that a number of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion are already in Ukraine.
It is difficult to perceive this as anything other than a manifestation of readiness and intention to enter into a direct armed confrontation with Russia, which would mean a head-on military clash between nuclear powers. We have also recorded a series of steps by the French side, including military exercises and other measures that are likely to support Emmanuel Macron’s statements by demonstrating Paris’ nuclear capabilities.”
American F-16s Targeted
In this statement the Russia Foreign Ministry also railed against the donation of ATACMS and F-16s to Ukraine. Especially noteworthy of those complaints is that the foreign ministry said it would consider any F-16 in Ukraine as “nuclear-capable” considering the U.S. employs the F-16 in a nuclear capable variant. That subtle comment provides veiled insight into possible targets that the Russian Federation would consider for a tactical nuclear strike as well as priority targets for a massive conventional strike. That statement reads below:
“In the near future, American-made F-16 multifunctional aircraft are expected to appear in the Ukrainian theater of operations. As the Russian side has repeatedly pointed out, we cannot ignore the fact that these aircraft belong to dual-equipped platforms – non-nuclear and nuclear. For many years, aircraft of this type formed the basis of the aircraft fleet that is involved in the so-called “joint nuclear missions” of NATO. Regardless of the modification of these aircraft, we will perceive them as carriers of nuclear weapons and consider this step by the United States and NATO as a deliberate provocation.”
