Ukraine's Western backers in NATO and Europe will have to consider committing troops to the war-torn country under two conditions, French President Emmanuel Macron has said, as conflict within the alliance about the possibility of sending troops rumbles on.
"If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request—which is not the case today—we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question," Macron told The Economist in an interview published on Thursday, referring to the possibility of sending ground troops.
Ukraine's supporters, although supplying billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv, have balked at the idea of sending troops, a move that could draw NATO more directly into a confrontation with Russia.
Macron debuted the potential for NATO troops in Ukraine in late February, saying that although there was "no consensus" on combat personnel, "nothing should be excluded" when it came to supporting Ukraine. It "is not unthinkable" to deploy NATO troops to Ukraine, added Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
Macron's comments shook other NATO leaders, with several quickly downplaying the potential for NATO troops on the frontlines. Shortly after Macron's remarks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, "There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states."
"Boots on the ground is not an option for Germany," added German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius.
U.S. President Joe Biden said early on in the more than two-year-old war that U.S. "forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine." In March 2024, the President said Kyiv was "not asking for American soldiers."
"In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, and I'm determined to keep it that way," he said during his State of the Union speech.
Responding to Macron's comments, the Kremlin warned a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO would be unavoidable if alliance troops fought alongside Ukraine in the country.
"The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries is a very important new element," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media in February.
The French leader said he "absolutely" stood by his previous statement, adding: "I'm not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out."
France "deployed several thousand troops" to the Sahel region of Africa to combat terrorism at the request of sovereign states, Macron said.
"I think to rule it out a priori is not to learn the lessons of the past two years," he continued, referencing the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
