A provocative comment by President Emmanuel Macron of France about the possibility of putting troops from NATO countries in Ukraine has prompted a warning from the Kremlin and hurried efforts by European leaders to distance themselves from the suggestion.
The fractured messaging underscores how Ukraine’s allies are struggling to agree on new ways to help Ukraine as resolve weakens in the United States and Russia advances on the battlefield.
The Kremlin warned Tuesday that a ground intervention by any NATO country would lead to a direct clash between the Western military alliance and Russian forces, fraught with potential dangers, and called the open discussion of such a step as “a very important new element.”
“This is of course not in the interest of these countries,” the Kremlin spokesperson said in comments to reporters.
The warning came a day after Macron said “nothing should be ruled out” regarding the possibility of a NATO country sending troops to Ukraine, though he said there was no consensus on the matter.
“Anything is possible if it is useful to reach our goal,” Macron said, speaking after a meeting with European leaders in Paris about future support for Ukraine. Reminding leaders that the West was doing things it didn’t imagine two years ago, like 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 rushed to emphasize they were not considering putting troops on the ground in Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press the alliance itself had no such plans.
France clarified that Macron was trying to emphasize how Europe must consider new actions to support Ukraine.
The back and forth highlighted how NATO, despite becoming more powerful with the approval of Finland and Sweden as new members, has found itself grasping for solutions in Ukraine.