Macron says there are signs of preparations for a new mobilization in Russia

In an interview with the French TV channels TF1 and France 2, Emmanuel Macron said that he sees signs of preparations in Russia for a new wave of mobilization of about 300,000 people. According to him, there are several signs that Russia is organizing for this.

Macron also said that the Kremlin is “sending signals that it is ready to make even greater sacrifices to seize all of Donbas”. In his assessment, it could take another year and a half to two years for the Russian Armed Forces to occupy the entire Donetsk region.

The French president did not rule out new Russian hybrid attacks on European states. He said that Vladimir Putin sees the EU as “Ukraine’s strategic rear”, so Europe “is becoming a target”.

Macron recalled Russia’s cyberattacks in the West and the attack on Leipzig Airport in Germany in early August. He warned that something similar could happen in France as well, and also said that last week he gathered representatives of all the country’s political forces to warn them about the development of this threat.

Earlier, the Spanish outlet El Mundo reported that after the visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow at the end of August, the U.S. intelligence agency shared with European governments data on Russia’s plans to attack Spain, France, and Italy using UAVs. According to this data, Russia may hide Gerbera drones in containers on shadow fleet vessels and launch them from the Mediterranean Sea at ports and critical infrastructure, but Macron denies these reports.

Sources

• Original source: wsj.com
• Original source: nytimes.com
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