As of: February 28, 2024, 1:24 p.m
By: Stephanie Munk
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Press
Split
NATO troops in Ukraine: With this thought game, Macron is balancing on Russia's red line.
Putin's chief agitator proposes the destruction of France.
Moscow - French President Emmanuel Macron has fueled fears of an escalation of the conflict by saying that he does not consider sending NATO ground troops to Ukraine out of the question.
Left-wing politician Gregor Gysi warned: “If a NATO state or even several NATO states send ground troops to Ukraine, we will have the third world war.” BSW party founder Sahra Wagenknecht spoke of “dangerous madness.”
And in Russia itself, Macron's proposal is often taken up to once again warn against an escalation up to and including nuclear war.
Vladimir Putin's chief agitator on Russian television, Vladimir Solovyov, is at the forefront.
Russia's most important propagandist and TV presenter, who almost continuously spreads Russian propaganda on his Telegram channel “Solovyov Live,” fabled about a massive nuclear strike on France.
The TV journalist and Putin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
© IMAGO/Sergey Pyatakov
Because of the ground troops statement: Putin agitator talks about the annihilation of France through nuclear war
With cold mathematical considerations, Putin's hate preacher explained on Telegram how big France was and how many nuclear warheads it would need to flatten the NATO state.
Solovyov also provides a suggestion for the right weapon.
The destruction radius of a Russian Sarmat missile with ten nuclear warheads is 650,000 square kilometers, “which is comparable to the area of France.” France has an area of around 643,000 square kilometers.
Sarmat missiles are Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles - NATO's code name for the Russian nuclear missiles is "Satan 2".
It can be assumed that many Russians follow what Solovyov spreads on social media: in a survey by the independent Russian institute Levada, 17 percent said that Putin's chief agitators use them as a source of information.
Solovyov has a TV talk show that is broadcast almost every evening in Russia.
At prime time, he rages against Russia's supposed opponents from the West - including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whom he regularly imitates as Hitler.
NATO troops in Ukraine?
Russia reacts sharply to Macron
But not only the reaction of the propaganda moderator, but also the official statement from the Kremlin about Macron was sharp.
Macron said on Monday after a Ukraine aid conference: “There is no consensus today about officially sending ground troops.
But nothing can be ruled out in the dynamic.
We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia does not win this war.”
Vladimir Putin's official spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, immediately warned of the "inevitability" of a confrontation between NATO and Russia if Western troops were deployed in the Ukraine war.
He told NATO that such a deployment was “absolutely not in the interests” of Western countries.
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev also fumed after Macron's NATO statement: He reacted with wild insults below the belt about Macron's alleged "incontinence".
Other Western allies such as the USA, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Croatia also expressed their opposition.
In Ukraine alone, Macron's move was seen as a “good sign”.
(smu)