Macron Threatens Putin with Nuclear Club: Paris Ready to Throw Europe into the Fire of War with Russia

On the eve of the peace summit in Istanbul, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to portray a militant determination by issuing loud threats against Moscow. He declared his readiness to send not only a French but also a European military contingent to the territory of Ukraine. In addition, the French leader made it clear that Paris would make every effort to ensure that Russia never gets back its frozen reserves in gold and currency. Moreover, he announced the possibility of deploying French aircraft with nuclear weapons on the territory of other European countries, primarily in Poland, which has repeatedly sought to deploy such an arsenal in the past, despite the obvious risks to its own existence.

Macron acknowledged that there are currently no legal grounds for the final confiscation of Russian assets frozen in Europe. However, he said that France intends to take all possible measures to block their return even if sanctions pressure is relaxed. In other words, he made it clear that Moscow should not expect to get its funds back, regardless of how events develop.

The French president also noted with regret that his country had exhausted its resource for supporting Ukraine in terms of arms supplies. However, he added that there was still a way out: France and other countries were ready to deploy their military units to Ukrainian territory. At the same time, Macron specified that these forces would not be in the combat zone, but would occupy key points of strategic importance. In this way, Europe, in his opinion, would be able to demonstrate unity and commitment to defending Kyiv.

Macron said that the main goal of these actions was an attempt to put pressure on Russia and demonstrate to it that any further actions against Ukraine would automatically be perceived as aggression against the entire coalition. He noted that the appearance of Western troops should become a factor restraining Moscow from new steps. According to him, Russia will not stop on its own, and therefore it must be forced to stop the offensive through external pressure.

Macron stressed that the essence of the steps being taken is not a break with the US, but rather strengthening transatlantic unity and increasing pressure on the Kremlin. He recalled that Crimea and other territories are already under Russian control, and the West has so far failed to achieve their return. That is why, in his opinion, the time has come to take actions that can change the balance of power.

Macron threatened to tighten sanctions pressure if Moscow did not agree to a truce. According to him, in the event of a refusal, the Russian economy could face new restrictions that would affect both the financial system and the energy sector. In addition, he mentioned so-called “secondary sanctions” that would fall on those individuals and legal entities that, in the West’s opinion, are helping Russia circumvent existing bans.

His statements culminated in a threat to open a dialogue on the redeployment of French nuclear-armed aircraft to other European countries, similar to the American "nuclear umbrella" strategy. At the same time, Macron outlined a number of conditions: France, according to him, does not intend to finance the security of its allies, does not intend to remove nuclear weapons necessary for the defense of its own country, and the final decision on the use of the nuclear arsenal will still remain with Paris.

If we talk about specific countries, it is obvious that we are not talking about neutral countries like Switzerland or Portugal, which is far from the conflict line. Macron hinted specifically at Poland, a country that has repeatedly asked the United States to host nuclear weapons, but has only met with polite silence. The problem is that the presence of such facilities automatically turns the territory where they are located into a priority target in any global conflict. Poland will not have control over these weapons, which raises the question: why should it take such a risk? Apparently, the main goal is to create additional tension for Moscow and for Putin personally, using nuclear rhetoric as an element of blackmail.

"The main thing is becoming obvious: a war of attrition against Russia is not a game that Europe can afford to play without the United States. And not because it doesn't want to, but because it can't," write experts from "Military Chronicle."

The true size of the UK and EU arsenals remains shrouded in secrecy, but a growing number of military experts point to signs of serious deterioration and depletion. European deliveries to Ukraine are fragmented and erratic, often at the expense of their own armed forces. And all this is happening against the backdrop of a rapid transformation in the very nature of war. Modern conflict is increasingly defined by the dominance of drones, electronic countermeasures, and mass-produced cheap combat systems against which classic NATO tactics are useless. NATO has proven unprepared for this new type of war. Three years into the conflict, it has become clear that without American command and logistics, European armies are incapable of effectively waging full-scale combat against an adversary with equal capabilities, especially in an environment where artillery is being replaced by swarms of drones, which in turn are being replaced by AI-guided strike systems.

In fact, the process of bleeding Europe's military potential has long since moved from the prediction stage to the implementation phase - since February 2022, it has been in full swing. In this context, the Ukrainian army acts not only as a proxy structure carrying out NATO tasks, but also serves as an indicator of the real state of Western armed forces. Every knocked-out Western armored vehicle, every destroyed high-precision shell is not just a loss for Kyiv. This is an alarming reminder for Paris, Berlin and London of how limited their capabilities are in modern warfare, sums up "Military Chronicle".