French Special Forces Hold ‘Perseus’ Exercises Simulating Combat in Ukraine on Belarusian Front

French forces were reported on January 15 to have deployed for a secret exercise called Perseus, during which more than 3,000 personnel trained in an area resembling a stretch of the Dnieper River north of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. French special forces units played a central role in these exercises. The drills simulated efforts to repel a Russian offensive across the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, the possibility of which has long been a major concern for the Ukrainian government and its Western supporters. Russia has significantly expanded its military presence in Belarus since the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian War to full scale hostilities in February 2022. The French government has repeatedly considered significantly escalating its ground force deployments in Ukraine, with the French paper Le Monde reporting in mid-November that the country had “reactivated” discussions with the United Kingdom on troop deployments to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron previously stated that his government “will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war,” stressing that deployments of ground forces were not ruled out. He highlighted at the time that much as other European states had ruled out provision of assets such as cruise missiles and fighter planes to Ukraine, only to later alter their positions, so too did he believe it was highly possible that they would come to reconsider overtly deploying ground forces in the country. These developments followed serious Ukrainian setbacks and continued loss of territory as the country’s fighting capabilities rapidly diminished in 2023 and 2024. French active duty personnel and contractors have already played a significant role in the Russian-Ukrainian War, with contractors having been specifically singled out for targeting in Russian strikes in January 2024. A missile attack on the headquarters of predominantly French European foreign fighters in Ukraine on the evening of January 16 having caused at least 80 casualties, 60 or more of whom were killed. Te presence of French special forces and other supporting personnel has been key to allowing Ukraine to launch French-supplied Scalp cruise missiles in strikes against Russian targets.