France reaffirms that the use of its missiles on Russian soil remains an “option”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot reaffirmed Monday that the use of French missiles by Ukrainian forces on Russian soil remained “an option.”

“An option”. This is how the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot recalled that, for France, Ukraine's use of long-range missiles on Russian territory.

“You heard President (Emmanuel) Macron in Meseberg (Germany) on May 25, where we openly said that it was an option that we were considering, if it was necessary to authorize strikes on targets from which the Russians are attacking Ukrainian territory,” he said, in English, upon his arrival in Brussels for a meeting of foreign ministers.

“So, nothing new under the sun,” he added.

Nothing new, but a major strategic change a few weeks before Donald Trump comes to power imposed by Joe Biden. The current president of the United States has just authorized Ukraine to strike Russian soil with long-range missiles supplied by the United States.

“The missiles will speak for themselves”

Russia, which announced Monday morning that it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones, notably over regions bordering Ukraine and in the Moscow region, has not yet officially commented on the American authorization. A Russian MP, however, downplayed its significance.

“This will not change the course of the operation, absolutely nothing,” Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the defense committee of the lower house of parliament, told the Russian public agency Ria Novosti on Monday.

Democratic President Joe Biden thus accedes to a long-standing request from kyiv shortly before his departure from the White House and the return of Republican Donald Trump, very critical of American aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself cautiously welcomed the American official's announcement.

“But strikes are not carried out using words. Things like this are not announced,” Volodymyr Zelensky continued. “The missiles will speak for themselves.”

These missiles with a maximum range of several hundred kilometers would allow Ukraine to reach logistical sites of the Russian army and airfields from which its bombers take off. The U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles are initially expected to be used in Russia's Kursk border region, where North Korean soldiers have been deployed in support of Russian troops, according to the New York Times, citing U.S. officials speaking under cover of anonymity.