- Stéphane Séjourné said Ukraine’s fall could see refugees flee across Europe
Europe will be flooded by ’10 million migrants’ if Vladimir Putin wins his war in Ukraine, France’s foreign minister has warned.
Stéphane Séjourné said that the country’s collapse could see a wave of Ukrainian refugees flee across the continent after being displaced from their homes.
Speaking on France Inter radio on Friday, the Foreign Minister also signaled that Putin’s war against the West would not stop in Ukraine, adding that the French Government ‘have information’ to suggest Moldova could be his next target.
Séjourné said: ‘First of all, there is a risk of Ukraine collapsing and there are consequences to this risk.
‘We’re talking about 10 million Ukrainians who could leave Ukraine in the event of a collapse. And we know very well, and have information, that Russia will not stop there.’
France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné (pictured) has warned Europe will be flooded by ’10 million migrants’ if Vladimir Putin wins his war in Ukraine
The Foreign Minister also signaled that Putin’s (pictured) war would not stop in Ukraine
A Ukrainian tank of the 17th tank brigade fires at the Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, on February 29
The Minister added that he agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that the West could have to send ground troops to Ukraine to fight Russia if it wants Moscow to be defeated.
Séjourné said: ‘A very clear framework has been set, namely to put Russia in check without going to war with Russia. And within that framework, nothing is ruled out.
‘It contributes to strategic ambiguity, but at the same time it puts us on the right side of history. I’m very happy with it.
His comments came days after Putin threatened to nuke the West after accusing NATO and the US of ‘preparing to strike’ Russia.
Responding to the threat, Séjourné said: ‘When we decided to send military equipment, he raised the nuclear threat. When we decided to send tanks, he raised the nuclear threat. When we decided to send planes, he raised the nuclear threat.
‘So now we’re taking it to the next level, ruling out anything, and he’s raising the nuclear threat.
‘We are in a fragile situation with the preparations for the European elections and the Olympic Games… It’s their services, our public services, our transport, our hospitals.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference at the end of the international conference aimed at strengthening Western support for Ukraine on February 26
‘Imagine for two minutes that we had no hospitals in the Paris region, that transport came to a standstill because of Russian computer attacks. All this means that Russia has changed its stance.’
The Russian president, 71, said in an annual address to the nation on Thursday: ‘They are preparing to strike our territory and, using the best possible forces, the most effective forces to do so.
‘But we remember the fate of those who try to invade our territory and of course their fate will be much more tragic than anything we could face.’
Putin repeatedly lauded Russia’s vastly modernised nuclear arsenal in his speech and added as a warning to the West: ‘They have to understand that we also have weapons, weapons that can defeat them on their own territory.
‘Of course all this is very dangerous, because it could actually trigger the use of nuclear weapons. Do they not understand that?’
The Russian despot also chillingly assured that ‘strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use’, but warned the use of nuclear weapons would equal the ‘destruction of civilisation’.
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