The Kremlin has warned that conflict between Russia and NATO would become inevitable if European members of NATO send troops to fight in Ukraine.
This was in response to French President, Emmanuel Macron who on Monday raised the possibility of European nations sending troops to Ukraine but cautioned that there was no consensus.
Speaking at a meeting of 20 mainly European leaders in Paris on Monday, February 26, 2024, Macron said, “There is no consensus to officially back any ground troops. That said, nothing should be excluded.”
Macron added, “We will do everything that we can to make sure that Russia does not prevail.”
Kremlin Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov told reporters, that the very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries is a “very important new element.”
When asked by reporters what the risks of a direct Russia-NATO conflict would be if NATO members sent their troops to fight in Ukraine, Peskov remarked, “In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability (of a direct conflict).”
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak welcomed the prospect of European nations sending troops to Ukraine, though several countries have already said they are not considering doing so.
“This shows, firstly, an absolute awareness of the risks posed to Europe by a militaristic, aggressive Russia,” Podolyak said in a written comment on Macron’s statement.
“The opening of a discussion on the possibility of direct support of Ukraine by armed forces should be seen as a desire to set the right accents, to highlight the risks more clearly.”
Mykhailo Podolyak
The Senior Ukrainian official added that it was important at this stage to accelerate the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine.
Sweden, Poland And Czech Republic Not Considering Sending Troops To Ukraine
Sweden, Czech Republic and Poland announced that they are not considering sending troops to Ukraine.
Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, said that he will not be sending troops to Ukraine, stating that it is not a relevant question for NATO at the moment.
He told a Swedish news agency, “Right now we are fully occupied with sending advanced materials to from Sweden to Ukraine in many different ways, like many other countries are. So that is a whole other thing.”
He added, “There are not any requests from Ukraine’s side either for that. That question is not relevant.”
The comments come a day after Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s NATO accession nearly two years after the historically neutral country applied to join the western military alliance.
Also on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, stated that he is not considering sending any troops to Ukraine.
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, said the same about Poland.
“I am convinced that we should develop the paths of support that we embarked on after Russia’s aggression,” Fiala told a news conference alongside Tusk as they met in Prague on Tuesday.
“I believe we do not need to open some other methods or ways,” Fiala said, noting the current focus was on military aid as well as humanitarian and economic support.
Tusk added, “Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine.”
“I think that we should not speculate today whether there will be circumstances that could change this position,” he opined.
Hungary and Germany also ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine.
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