A provocative comment by French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of deploying troops from NATO countries to Ukraine prompted a warning from the Kremlin and hurried efforts by European leaders to distance themselves from the proposal.
The fractured messages underscore how Ukraine’s allies are struggling to agree on new ways to help Kiev as resolve weakens in the United States and Russia advances on the battlefield.
The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that a ground intervention by any NATO country would lead to a direct conflict between the Western military alliance and Russian forces, fraught with potential dangers, and called the open discussion of such a step “a very important new element ».
“This is of course not in the interest of these countries,” Dmitry S. Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said in comments to reporters.
The warning came a day after Mr Macron said “nothing should be ruled out” over the possibility of a Nato country sending troops to Ukraine, although he said there was no consensus on the matter.
“Everything is possible if it is useful to reach our goal,” Mr Macron said, speaking after meeting European leaders in Paris on future support for Kiev. Reminding leaders that the West was doing things unimaginable two years ago, such as sending sophisticated missiles and tanks, he said the goal was to ensure “Russia cannot win this war.”
Poland, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic were quick to stress that they are not considering deploying troops to Ukraine. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press that the alliance itself had no such plans.
France said Mr Macron was trying to highlight how Europe should consider new actions to support Ukraine.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said new aid to Ukraine in demining, cyber defense and weapons production “could require a presence on Ukrainian soil, without crossing the threshold of combat”.
“Nothing should be ruled out,” said Mr. Séjourné. “This was and is the position of the President of the Republic today.”
The back-and-forth underscored how NATO, despite being made more powerful by the approval of Finland and Sweden as new members, found itself grasping for solutions in Ukraine.
Western nations have many options other than bringing ground troops into the conflict zone. Ukraine has asked for more fighter jets, long-range missiles, ammunition and air defenses as its troops repel a Russian advance that saw Kiev retreat from the town of Avdiivka this month.
Acrimonious exchanges between Russia and the West have become common during the two-year war. The Kremlin has often responded to Western actions with provocative threats of conflict, including regularly reminding its adversaries of its nuclear arsenal. But despite these belligerent warnings, he has refrained from carrying out strikes against Ukraine’s western allies, including sites involved in supplying arms to Ukraine.
Talk of a possible ground intervention in Ukraine by a NATO member — considered unlikely by most analysts — has overshadowed more pressing questions about the material shortages facing Ukraine on the frontline. Europe’s withered defense industry is struggling to meet existing munitions commitments, let alone replace the United States.
The European Union has acknowledged it will miss its target of providing one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by March 1. Mr Macron said on Monday that “it was probably an unwise commitment”, noting that Europe does not have sufficient reserves or production capacity to meet that target.
“Talking about possible deployments by NATO member countries to Ukraine is a bit of a red herring,” said Andrew S. Weiss, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The really decisive question is what the Europeans can do to compensate for the lack of US military support.”
Mr Macron said on Monday he was open to European nations buying ammunition for Ukraine from outside the European Union. The Czech Republic is lobbying for those purchases to help with immediate shortages as Republicans in Congress block new military aid from the United States.
“The Europeans have had two years to get their act together and mobilize their industrial base,” Mr. Weiss said. “Everything else is just a shiny shiny object to distract from that downside.”
Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the United States and most of its European allies have categorically ruled out immediate intervention of NATO troops in the conflict, warning that such a step could escalate in nuclear war.
President Biden openly said that US troops would not be deployed to Ukraine in the weeks leading up to the invasion and reiterated that position in the following days. His administration, seeking to avoid any possibility of a nuclear exchange, has made avoiding a direct clash between Russian and American troops the “North Star” of its response to Moscow’s invasion.
The issue of a NATO country putting troops on the ground received renewed attention on Monday ahead of the Paris summit, when Slovakia’s pro-Kremlin prime minister, Robert Fico, said other NATO countries were discussing bilateral deals. ground forces in Ukraine — a step he said Slovakia would not take.
Mr Macron made his comments later in the day, calling Moscow’s defeat “necessary” for European security. He declined to say which nations might consider sending ground troops, arguing that “strategic ambiguity” was necessary to keep Russia guessing.
But the swift denial from his fellow European leaders led to confusion about the alliance’s unity and questions about whether his comments amounted to an empty threat.
“One thing is clear: there will be no ground troops from European NATO states” in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said wrote to Xthe social platform formerly known as Twitter.
Speaking at a press conference in Prague, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Czech counterpart, Petr Fialia, also said they were not considering that option. Sweden, which on Monday cleared its final hurdle to join NATO, also ruled out sending ground troops. So does Spain.
A European military official with knowledge of the Paris talks said “some Nordic and Baltic countries” had supported the option of sending troops to Ukraine. The official, who did not identify the countries, spoke on condition of anonymity. And Kestutis Budrys, national security adviser to the Lithuanian president, said his country is considering deploying military personnel to train Ukrainian troops, according to local news reports.
Kremlin spokesman Mr Peskov noted the “rich range of views on this issue” within the Western alliance and the lack of consensus on the issue.
“A number of participants at this event in Paris maintain a fairly sober assessment of the potential risks of such actions and the potential risks of direct involvement in a hot conflict – engagement on the battlefield,” Mr Peskov said.
However, Mr Peskov said the fact that an immediate intervention of NATO troops on the ground is being discussed “is of course a very important new element” observed by the Kremlin.
David E. Sanger contributed to the report.
