William Molinié, edited by Solène Leroux 3:04 p.m., February 25, 2022
The elite unit of the French Gendarmerie, the GIGN, currently secures the French Embassy in Kiev.
Members arrived there a few days ago, before the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Most of their work in recent hours is to prepare the exfiltration operation of nationals.
Part of the GIGN, the elite unit of the French gendarmerie, is in Ukraine.
Where are they ?
What is their mission ?
They secure the French embassy which remains open since diplomatic activity continues on the spot.
According to information from the political service of Europe 1, there are a dozen gendarmes from the GIGN: eight arrived a few days ago, just before the start of the bombardments.
They belong to what is called Protec'.
This is the nickname given to the Force Security Protection (FSP) intervention group.
They are specialists in isolated operations in a country at war.
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700 French concerned
Most of their work in recent hours is to prepare the exfiltration operation of French nationals from Kiev.
About 700 French nationals have made contact with the embassy.
For the moment, the instruction is to stay well at home, and above all not to leave the roads that are too dangerous because of the bombardments and the fighting.
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But as soon as a window opens, the repatriation of these French people can begin.
Clearly, the GIGN will pick up the families at their homes and exfiltrate them, most certainly by road to a friendly border country, because the Ukrainian sky remains closed to civil aviation for the time being.