Europeans rule out sending troops to Ukraine
Germany, Britain and other European countries said on Tuesday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and NATO.
French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage.
His comments, made at a hastily convened meeting of European leaders in Paris on ways to boost support for Kyiv, come amid battlefield gains by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces in eastern Ukraine and growing shortages of ammunition and manpower on the Ukrainian side.
However, Germany, Britain, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic distanced themselves from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the Ukraine war, now in its third year.
“... There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was equally adamant.
“Boots on the ground is not an option for ... Germany,” Pistorius told reporters during a visit to Vienna.
Seeking to clarify Macron’s remarks, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Tuesday the president had in mind sending troops for specific tasks such as helping on mine clearance, production of weapons on site, and cyberdefence.
“(This) could require a (military) presence on Ukrainian territory, without crossing the threshold of fighting,” Sejourne told French lawmakers.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis welcomed Macron’s push to get allies to focus more on how to help Kyiv.
“Times like these require political leadership, ambition, and courage to think out of the box,” he said in a post on X.
Scholz did say that European leaders now appeared willing after Monday’s talks to procure weapons from countries outside Europe as a way of speeding up military aid to Ukraine.