MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. The real combat potential of the so-called Coalition of the Willing can be estimated at 10,000-20,000 troops, Christelle Neant, the editor-in-chief of the International Reporters agency and a war reporter working in Donbass, told TASS.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters following negotiations in Paris that 26 countries that make up the coalition have confirmed their readiness to send troops to Ukraine when a ceasefire or peace is achieved in the country.
"In my opinion, it will be 10,000-20,000 troops at best," she said. "Russia has already declared, in statements made by [President] Vladimir Putin and [Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov that Russia will not tolerate NATO armed forces on the territory of Ukraine. So this entire Coalition of the Willing circus is a puppet show of Macron, who is trying to play the role of a military leader. This is ridiculous."
Neant added that training missions do not equal the deployment of troops.
"French media have already reported that out of all these 26 countries that he [Macron] mentioned, only six were ready to really deploy troops on the territory of Ukraine before the start of this meeting. These are France, the United Kingdom, Baltic countries and one more country. Germany has no such plans, and so does Italy, and the majority of European countries do not want it too," the journalist continued. "The only question that remained before this meeting is what will Denmark, Sweden and Finland decide."
According to reports, Macron chose not to answer questions about numbers and nationality of troops. He only declared readiness to "make a contribution" for "presence at sea, in the air and on land."