PARIS, May 18. /TASS/. The French armed forces are preparing a new unit of scouts to support potential offensive operations in Ukraine, the RTL radio station reported, citing its correspondent who observed the exercises of this unit in Estonia.
"We will infiltrate, try to get close to enemy positions and even bypass them. Then we will have two solutions for reconnaissance. We can use our drone, or we can use the good old-fashioned way: our eyes. We can see a little bit of the surrounding terrain. It's very similar to what we see in Ukraine and in the Middle East. So it's very interesting for us," one of the squad members, Staff sergeant Quentin, told the radio.
Members of this unit are said to be able to "hide in the bush for hours" thanks to camouflage and use drones to observe the enemy from 200-300 meters. This "experimental unit of super covert scouts" is designed to identify enemy strongholds, locate entrances to trenches, and coordinate assault teams to capture them.
"Staff sergeant Quentin and his fellow soldiers are training in real conditions and say they are already ready to defend their Estonian ally," the radio station's correspondent added. RTL added that France is taking part in NATO exercises on the territory of Estonia involving 14,000 people.
According to the radio station, the purpose of these exercises is "to show Russia that an invasion [of Estonia] would be a bad idea" and it is on these training grounds that the French army is "testing the competencies of a new unit that would be useful in Ukraine.".