France‘s military intelligence chief is leaving his post after Paris failed to accurately predict – in contrast with western allies – that Russia would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, several sources with knowledge of his exit have said, reports The Guardian.
Gen Eric Vidaud, who has led the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) since only last summer, is to immediately step down from his post, a military source, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
The source confirmed a report on L’Opinion website citing an internal defence ministry investigation that criticised “insufficient briefings” and “failure to master the issues”.
Another source told AFP that there had been rumours within the army concerning the departure of the general in recent days, with the possibility that another post could have been offered to him, though in the end this was not the case.
In the months before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, France’s assessments had contrasted with the gloomy predictions by allies including the US and Britain who said a serious military assault was imminent.
Senior figures from Emmanuel Macron’s government insisted there was no suggestion of a full-scale invasion and the French president kept diplomacy going to the last minute, meeting Putin in person in the Kremlin and trying to set up a summit with the US president, Joe Biden.