French President Emmanuel Macron has sent troops to the Russian border (Image: GETTY)
A total of 300 soldiers, four tanks and 25 infantry fighting vehicles will be dispatched on Tuesday to Tapa, which is located 90 miles from the Russian border, where they will be stationed until August, according to the website of the French embassy in Estonia. The contingent, which will serve in the UK-led battle group, is comprised of the French army’s second brigade, as well as Foreign Legion soldiers. Contingent member Major Marc Antoine said: “We are very pleased that we can work together with our allies and improve our interoperability.”
NATO has itself abandoned a positive agenda in its relations with Russia. It doesn’t exist.
Russia's deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko
Separately, Russia’s defence ministry announced today it would upgrade its Black Sea forces to counter what it perceived as NATO aggression.
Moscow is deeply unhappy at NATO buildup’s along its borders, and the relationship with NATO has all but broken down, especially since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and presence in the Donbass area of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko told Russian news agency RIA Novosti: “NATO has itself abandoned a positive agenda in its relations with Russia. It doesn’t exist.
“And so far there are no signs that NATO knows how to get out of this impasse.”
Four French tanks are also being deployed to Estonia (Image: GETTY)
Also last month, Mikhail Popov,
