NATO allies reject President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to send troops to Ukraine

Several NATO countries, including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom, ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing should be ruled out.”

Macron said there was “no agreement” on sending Western soldiers to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of direct conflict if NATO troops were deployed to the area.

Russian forces have recently increased their strength in Ukraine, and Kiev is urgently appealing for more weapons.

“We should not rule out the possibility that there are security needs that justify some elements of the deployment,” Macron told a news conference Monday night.

“But I have communicated very clearly what position France maintains, and it is a strategic ambiguity, which I support.”

The French leader was speaking in Paris, which is hosting a crisis meeting to support Ukraine attended by leaders from Europe, the United States and Canada.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin is now in its third year, and there are no signs that Europe’s biggest war since World War II will end anytime soon.

Macron’s comments also drew reactions from other European countries and NATO members.

US President Joe Biden believes that providing military aid “to ensure Ukraine’s military has the weapons and ammunition it needs to defend itself” is the “path to victory,” according to a White House statement.

“President Biden has made clear that the United States will not send troops to fight in Ukraine,” he added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there was no change to the agreed position that neither European countries nor NATO members would send troops to Ukraine.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country had no plans for a large-scale military deployment to Ukraine beyond the small number of personnel already training the Ukrainian military.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said that Italy’s “assistance does not include the presence of troops of European or NATO countries on the territory of Ukraine.”

Mr. Peskov, speaking on behalf of the Kremlin, said Mr. Macron’s proposal was a “very important new element,” adding that it was in no way in the interests of NATO members.

“In that case, we would need to talk about necessity rather than probability. [of direct conflict],” He said.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denied considering sending troops to Ukraine, although he insisted the alliance would continue to support the country, which is not a NATO member.

This position is also shared by many NATO member states, including Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Russia has extensive artillery and a much larger military than Ukraine, whose military relies heavily on modern weapons provided by Western allies, especially the United States.

But approval of a $95bn (£75bn, €69bn) US aid package, including $60bn for Ukraine, is struggling in the US House of Commons.

The US is by far the largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine, contributing €42.2bn (£36bn, $45bn) as of January 15, according to data from the Kiel Institute. There is.

Germany ranked second with €17.7 billion in military aid over the same period, followed by the UK, which provided €9.1 billion in military aid.

“Everything we do together to protect against Russian aggression will give our country true security for decades to come,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who joined Monday’s meeting in Paris by video link. “I will bring it to fruition.”