Is Ukraine about to have a war?

[T28B]

Originally Posted by MJ89

https://www.businessinsider.com/macr...op=1&r=US&IR=T
typical

The article you linked to is about France not feeling that an attack on Ukraine triggers their self defense doctrine.

France's Macron suggests he won't fire nukes at Russia even if Putin uses them in Ukraine, undercutting Western threats

• Macron suggested he wouldn't use nuclear weapons to retaliate if Russia used them in Ukraine.
• In a sometimes-unclear interview answer, he said it may fall short of a threshold for retaliation.
• It struck a different tone from a statement by France, the US, and others warning of "severe consequences."

Spoiler

 

 

France's President Emmanuel Macron suggested that he would not use nuclear weapons against Russia in retaliation for a Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine.
Macron, in a TV interview Wednesday night, gave a long and sometimes-ambiguous discussion of how France might react if Vladimir Putin's threats to use nuclear force were to come true.

His answer , to the France 2 network, suggested that such an event may fall short of France's own threshold for striking back.

The position was at odds with a much firmer statement by G7 countries Monday, in which France and other nations warned of "severe consequences" to the Russian use of nuclear weapons.

Macron was asked: "Would France consider a tactical strike by Russia as a nuclear strike?"

He replied: "France has a nuclear doctrine. It lies in the nation's fundamental interests that are clearly defined. They wouldn't be questioned should there be a ballistic nuclear attack."

France's current nuclear policy is to use nuclear weapons only in self-defense, a definition Macron suggested would not be met by an attack on an allied nation like Ukraine.

Macron also tweeted on Wednesday: "We do not want a World War."

To be fair, the French spent decades within NATO, but outside of the integrated military command structure, after DeGaulle's walkout.
They were very clear about retaining an independent nuclear deterrent and an independent nuclear posture. They continued to work with NATO and participate in NATO exercises and operations (where they felt it was good for them). It was comparatively recently, under Sarkozy (2009), that over 40 years of policy was changed and France returned to the integrated military command structure in NATO.
At the time, there was significant objection from the center and left (in France) to that policy change.

Monsieur Macron is being reasonably consistent with previous French precedent, in terms of having an independent posture for nuclear weapons.

Originally Posted by MJ89

2 ukrainian air force jets downed, wonder where the missiles where fired from? . https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/13-oct...reconnaissance

Thank you for the aviation content.