France in talks with Britain, Ukraine about potential troops, Macron tells paper

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron listen to Ukranian President Voloydmyr Zelensky as they walk in the grounds of the Mariynsky Palace in Kyiv on May 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 10 May 2025
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France in talks with Britain, Ukraine about potential troops, Macron tells paper

  • “We’re working on the presence and strategic footprint of the partner countries,” Macron said
  • “The key is to have troops in Ukraine“

PARIS: France is consulting with partners on how to potentially support Ukraine in its struggle with Russia with troops, French President Emmanuel Macron told newspaper Le Parisien on Saturday, without elaborating on what such a presence could include.

“We are working on the presence and strategic footprint of the partner countries. There have been several exchanges between our British, French and Ukrainian chiefs of staff, who have coordinated the work with all their partners, and all this is becoming clearer and making progress,” Macron was cited in the article.

“The key is to have troops in Ukraine,” he added.

Major European powers including France threw their weight behind an unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire, with the backing of US President Donald Trump.

Macron joined the leaders of Britain, Germany and Poland on a visit to Kyiv on Saturday during which they held a phone call with Trump.


Ukraine says UK Storm Shadow missiles used to hit Russian refinery

Updated 25 December 2025
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Ukraine says UK Storm Shadow missiles used to hit Russian refinery

  • The Novoshakhtinsk refinery was hit by the missiles
  • The military said that the Novoshakhtinsk plant is one of the main suppliers of petrol products in southern Russia

KYIV: Ukraine used British Storm Shadow missiles to attack a Russian oil refinery on Thursday, the Ukrainian military said.
The Novoshakhtinsk refinery was hit by the missiles and “numerous explosions” were recorded, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a social media post. It has already used the British missiles to attack targets inside Russia.
“Units of the air force of the armed forces of Ukraine successfully struck the Novoshakhtinsk oil products plant in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation with Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles,” the statement said.
The military said that the Novoshakhtinsk plant is one of the main suppliers of petrol products in southern Russia “and is directly involved in supplying the Russian Federation’s armed forces,” particularly with diesel fuel and aviation kerosene.
Ukraine, which faces daily missile and drone onslaughts from Russia, has sought to respond with attacks inside Russia on energy and infrastructure facilities.