French troops will be heading to Romania to prepare for deployment in Ukraine to confront the Russian army, particularly in Odesa, France 24 on X reports.

Among them, the 2nd foreign infantry regiment from Nîmes is mentioned.

“If the situation” in Ukraine worsens, “we must be ready and we will be ready to take the necessary decisions to ensure that Russia never wins,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised interview on Thursday evening, according to AFP.

The “security” of the French depends on the “defeat of Russia” in Ukraine, he said, noting that those who set “limits” on aid to Ukraine are “choosing defeat.”

The war in Ukraine is “important for our Europe and for France,” insisted the head of the French state. “If Russia wins this war, trust in Europe will be reduced to zero,” and “we won’t have any security,” he added.

President Macron, whose comments in late February about the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine sparked a flurry of political backlash in France and abroad, however said “we will never go on the offensive, we will never take the initiative”.

But “in the face of escalation” from Moscow, “we must say that we are ready to respond,” he added.