For the first time, the West has begun to publicly discuss sending its troops to Ukraine, although several European countries have denied that they could send troops to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war against Russia .
In the West, they started talking about sending not weapons to Ukraine, but directly to the troops. French President Emmanuel Macron, following a meeting of European leaders in Paris, said that in order to achieve victory over Russia in the war, sending Western ground forces to Ukraine is not excluded. A number of politicians have already managed to refute Macron’s words, but the discussion in the West has already begun.
Nothing can be denied
“Today there is no consensus on sending ground troops, but nothing can be denied. We will do everything to prevent Russia from winning this war,” Macron was quoted as saying by AFP. “We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is necessary for on security and stability in Europe.”
Macron also announced the creation of a new coalition that will provide Ukraine with long-range missiles and ammunition. Which one is not specified exactly.
Russia, he said, is becoming more aggressive not only on the battlefield in Ukraine, but also in general.
Reaction of NATO countries
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press that the alliance has no plans to send its military to Ukraine.
Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO allies are already providing unprecedented support to Ukraine: “We have been doing this since 2014 and intensified after the mass invasion. But there are no plans to put NATO troops on Ukrainian territory.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also ruled out the possibility that European countries and members of the NATO alliance would send ground troops to Ukraine.
Scholz confirmed that at a conference on aid to Ukraine in Paris, sending ground troops to the country was discussed. According to him, the meeting participants agreed that “there will be no European ground troops and no NATO soldiers on Ukrainian soil.”
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who also attended the meeting in Paris, said there was “no agreement” on the issue.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also ruled against sending German troops to Ukraine at a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Claudia Tanner on Tuesday. As he said, a German boot on Ukrainian soil is not an option for the German government.
The British Prime Minister’s spokesman Rishi Sunak also said that the British government has no plans to send any large troops to Ukraine.
The Spanish government in Madrid is also opposed to sending EU troops to Ukraine.
Reaction Ukraine
The adviser to the head of the Office of the President, Mikhail Podolyak, welcomed the opening of a discussion on the possible deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine, Reuters reports.
“Opening a discussion about the possibility of direct support for Ukraine by the armed forces should be considered as a desire to put the right emphasis and more clearly identify the risks,” he said.
According to Podolyak, this discussion shows “a full awareness of the dangers that a militaristic, aggressive Russia poses to Europe.”
Russia’s reaction
The Kremlin drew attention to Emmanuel Macron’s statement, said the Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov. According to him, sending Western ground forces to Ukraine means a direct military clash between Russia and NATO.
“In this case, we have to talk not about the possibility, but about the inevitable. That’s how we evaluate. And these countries must evaluate and be aware of it in the same way. And to ask if it corresponds to their interests, and most importantly to the interests of the citizens of their countries,” said the press secretary of the Russian president.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.