While Russian President Vladimir Putin has brandished the threat of a third world war, Europe as a whole is on the teeth.
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“There is a lot of concern here in France,” said Thomas Schnell, a journalist in Paris in an interview with LCN.
According to him, the specter of a conflict which would involve the whole of the Old Continent is one of the reasons which explain why demonstrations with the theme “no to war in Europe” took place in several large cities such as Paris, Nantes, Marseilles and Avignon.
“It’s right next to us and Vladimir Putin once again warned the Europeans saying: ‘If you ever prevent us from accessing Ukrainian airspace, you will be considered a participant in this conflict’ , he says.
“Germany is within seven minutes of Russian ballistic missile firing range, so we feel that the conflict could change at any time,” adds Thomas Schnell to demonstrate the threat that weighs on several European nations.
For his part, Emmanuel Macron multiplies the calls with Vladimir Putin, but his reports are rarely encouraging according to the journalist.
“We must expect the worst to happen,” had also launched the French president after an exchange with his Russian counterpart.
At another time, Emmanuel Macron also claimed: “Putin’s determination has not changed at all. The Russian ambition is to take all of Ukraine.”
Another sign that the countries of Europe are preparing for the worst-case scenario, since the beginning of the week, the French army has been sending soldiers to the Ukrainian border, to Romania and to Estonia, as part of a mission of L’ NATO.
“Soldiers who leave with armored vehicles, tanks and heavy equipment, potentially ready to go to war,” reports Thomas Schnell.
With the bombing of a nuclear power plant this week, the threat of an incident that could irradiate all of Europe is also thrilling.
“We had a lot of concern this week with the nuclear risk, this strike during the Russian assault (…) against the largest power plant in Europe. If ever there had been a disaster, it would be six times Chernobyl in terms of radioactive fallout,” says Thomas Schnell.