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French President Emmanuel Macron has opened up the option of deploying European troops to Ukraine so that Russia loses the war. Photo/REUTERS
PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron has opened the option for European countries to send troops to Ukraine. According to him, all means will be taken so that Russia loses the war.
Some 20 European leaders gathered in Paris yesterday to deliver a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Europe's resolve on Ukraine and counter the Kremlin's narrative that Russia is certain to win a war now in its third year.
“There is no consensus at this stage… to send troops into the field,” Macron told reporters.
“(But) nothing should be excluded. “We will do everything we have to do so that Russia does not win,” he said again, as quoted by Reuters, Tuesday (27/2/2024).
A White House official told Reuters that the United States had no plans to send troops to fight in Ukraine and there were no plans to send NATO troops to fight in Ukraine.
Macron invited his European counterparts to the Elysee palace for a hastily arranged meeting to discuss how to increase ammunition supplies to Ukraine amid what his advisers say has been an increase in Russian aggression over the past few weeks.
After initial success in repelling the Russian army, Ukraine suffered setbacks on the eastern battlefield, and its generals complained of a shortage of weapons and soldiers.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who opposes military aid to Ukraine, said some NATO and European Union members were considering sending troops to Ukraine bilaterally.
“I can confirm that there are countries that are willing to send their own troops to Ukraine, there are countries that say never, among them Slovakia, and there are countries that say this proposal needs to be considered,” he said.