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Europe incapable of deploying military contingent in Ukraine, says French military expert

According to retired French colonel Peer de Jong, France and the UK, which are the main advocates of this idea, do not have any resources in support of such ambitious plans

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. European countries will not be able to deploy a military contingent in Ukraine as France and the United Kingdom have small armies, Peer de Jong, a military expert and a retired French colonel, told Stratpol web portal on Friday.

"There are two fundamentally important factors in the issue of sending European troops to Ukraine: the position of the United States and that of Russia," he said. "Given the current situation, I do not think that European countries will send troops to Ukraine."

The French military expert does not believe in the potential of Europe's military presence in Ukraine and, according to him, France and the UK, which are the main advocates of this idea, do not have any resources in support of such ambitious plans.

"France and the United Kingdom have extremely small armies," he continued. "France has no more than 110 thousand troops on the ground. That's it. We have six brigades."

"So today, the United Kingdom and France have capabilities in the field of politics and diplomacy, but not in the event of an armed confrontation," according to de Jong. "We have no capabilities in this area. Therefore, it is very difficult for me to imagine a situation in which European countries would be deployed in Ukraine."

"Militarily, the Russians are in a superior position," the military expert noted. "They managed to dislodge the Ukrainians from the Kursk Region and build on their success in the Sumy area. The Russian military economy is functioning and showing strong growth."

Moreover, de Jong believes that US President Donald Trump's recent statements and his drive to settle the Ukrainian conflict "in a few days" proved to be unrealistic.

"There are several reasons for this. Russia is playing its cards right," he said. "Russian forces are currently expanding rapidly. Moscow is on the verge of a military victory."

"Regarding the US approach to resolving the conflict, it's worth noting that the United States is seeking an agreement consistent with its isolationist approach," the French military expert added.

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