 The unofficial presence of Western special forces in Ukraine is a matter of common knowledge, the Financial Times wrote, citing a senior European defense official, speaking anonymously. The comment came in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's earlier suggestion of potential NATO deployments in Ukraine. Speaking to the media after a gathering of European leaders in Paris, Macron said there was no consensus at the meeting to send, in an official manner, troops on the ground, but in terms of dynamics, we cannot exclude anything. He also promised to stop at nothing to prevent Russia from winning the conflict. A senior European defense official explained to the Financial Times that Macron's statement about sending in troops was an attempt to put pressure on Russia. Everyone knows there are Western special forces in Ukraine, they've just not acknowledged it officially, he added. Russia has repeatedly reported strikes against what it described as, foreign mercenaries, fighting in Ukraine. Last month, Russia's defense ministry announced it had killed over 60 foreign fighters in a missile strike, of which the majority, according to local sources, were French speakers. The head of the local Ukrainian administration later confirmed that two of the dead and three of the wounded were French volunteers. France subsequently denied the presence of any of its soldiers in Ukraine, although the French defense minister admitted that some French nationals were fighting in Kiev's army as, volunteers. British, French and US special force operatives have also been active in the conflict zone, according to a set of classified Pentagon documents leaked last year. Washington did not confirm or deny any information in the leaked files, but launched a probe and stated it would review who would have access to such information. Germany could be involved in a war with Russia, Schultz opposes supplying Ukraine with Taurus missiles. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again opposes the supply of long range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. In his opinion, this could involve his country in a war with Russia, according to RND. We must, under no circumstances, be aligned with the objectives achieved by this system. Therefore, this is not the next item on the agenda. This clarity is also necessary. I am surprised that some people are not concerned at all. They don't even contemplate whether what we are doing might, in some sense, lead to participation in war, says Scholz. He explained that Taurus missiles are long range weapons and what the English and the French do in terms of target control is impossible to do in Germany. Schultz noted that he is very irritated by the lack of balance between what is really needed now and the discussion about Taurus. What Ukraine lacks is ammunition for all possible lengths and distances, but not fundamentally from Germany. He emphasized, recall that Ukraine has been urging Germany to initiate the supply of long-range Taurus missiles capable of destroying targets up to 500 kilometers away since last year. However, the German government refuses to transfer such weaponry. According to media reports, Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself opposes it. He is concerned that the Ukrainian armed forces could use German missiles to strike Russian territory, making Germany a party to the conflict. Russia's Black Sea War Plan isn't working. UK. Those tactics against Ukraine's creative warfare in the Black Sea are falling short. According to a new assessment, as Moscow and Kiev step into the third year of all-out war. According to Newsweek, Russia can still strike at Ukraine from the eastern parts of the Black Sea, but it is increasingly evident that the defensive posture adopted to mitigate against Ukraine's non-conventional approach to maritime warfare is not working as intended. The British Defence Ministry said it is noted that shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea emerged as a key battleground between Kiev and Moscow. Ukraine has vowed to reclaim Crimea, which sits to the south of the mainland on the Black Sea but has been controlled by the Kremlin's forces since its annexation in 2014. Ukraine does not have a large navy but has made impressive use of naval drones to carry out dramatic strikes on Russia's Black Sea assets that have proved deeply embarrassing to Moscow. Russia's Black Sea operations have been greatly complicated if not paralyzed by the nearly two years of all-out war between Moscow and Kiev, Ukraine's navy said in early February. Ukrainian-designed Magura V-5 naval drones attacked and destroyed Russia's Caesar-Kunikov large landing ship near the southern Crimean city of Alupka, southeast of Russia's naval base at Sevastopol, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said earlier this month. Russia has lost a slew of other vessels including its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, several other landing ships, and a submarine. Ukraine has used uncrewed vehicles and guided missiles to push Russian threat perception to new highs and force Moscow to shift many of its assets further east away from mainland Ukraine, the UK government evaluated. The Kremlin has relocated some of its Black Sea assets from the peninsula to its Novorossiysk base in Russia's Krasnodar region further from Ukraine's coastline. Russia is also thought to be establishing another Black Sea base in Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Georgia. This would move Russia's resources in the Black Sea even further away from Ukraine's reach.