French General Christophe Gaumar, former head of the Special Operations Command and the French Military Intelligence Directorate, criticizes the prospect of sending French Leclerc tanks to Ukraine.

“We have been going from line to line since the beginning of the war. Then, at the beginning of the conflict, the West did not want to provide weapons [țările occidentale] eventually they agreed on the supply of short-range anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. They did not want to give the guns, which were finally sent. They were also reluctant to talk about medium-range anti-aircraft missiles and armored vehicles. They followed too. Sending these heavy tanks follows the same logic,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with the weekly Valeurs actuelles.

According to him, Ukraine hopes that tanks can be used to break through the Russian borders, but the situation is difficult and the front is “frozen”.

“Although the Russians resumed their offensive, they were unable to achieve any real breakthrough. The Ukrainians want to do the same with the import of Western materials. They want to change the balance of power with these tanks. However, the heterogeneity of the available fleet (Challenger 2, Abrams, Leopard 2) will be a real logistical headache,” said French Lt. Gen.

Homar, who headed the Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2013 and then the Office of Military Intelligence in Paris from 2013 to 2017, also said that “Ukraine is not in such a good position despite the counteroffensive this summer and fall.” “.

“The Russians are resuming their offensive. Losses are high among both Ukrainian and Russian troops. The President of Ukraine wants to change this situation and is ready to do anything for this. His goal with these heavy tanks is to push the Russians back to the borders in 1991. [Ucrainei]”, the French officer also said.

Asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements that France could send its Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, Gomar said he thought the answer should be “no.”

The French general says that sending tanks to Ukraine will “disarm” France

“The French army is being disarmed by sending Leclerc tanks to Ukraine. That would be the point of no return. Where will we stop? What will we have to give up next? In addition, it is almost impossible to send them for one reason: there are only 220 copies in the army. The Leclerc tank has not been produced since 2008,” explained the French general.

“Some of these forces are stationed in Romania, others are being modernized or should be, others are undergoing repairs, not forgetting those used for training and crew training,” he said.

It will be recalled that last autumn, France transferred 13 Leclerc tanks to Romania to join the fifth NATO battle group.

“In the context of growing tensions in the world, France is facing new threats (…) Would we be ready to give these weapons that are used to defend France? This is controversial. Sending tanks of this type to Ukraine will weaken the active forces of the Armed Forces,” he added.

Gomar also noted that the decision to send Leclerc tanks to Ukraine will reduce the training time of French crews, who will thus have less experience using this main combat vehicle.

“As the president of the republic said: one of the criteria that must be taken into account is the fact of ‘not weakening our own defense capability,'” the French general paraphrased Macron’s speech on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty, a friendship treaty signed in 1963 between France and West Germany.

However, in early January, Emmanuel Macron announced that France would send AMX-10 RC light armored combat vehicles to help in the war against Russia.

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