On 26 February, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that sending Western troops to Ukraine is still a possibility. The suggestion prompted a strong reaction from the Kremlin the next day. Meanwhile, Sweden, Poland, and the Czech Republic said they are not considering sending troops to Ukraine.
Speaking after a meeting of European heads of state and other Western officials in Paris, Macron said those discussed the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine.
“There is no consensus today to officially, openly, and with endorsement, send troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing should be ruled out. We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” the French President said, according to NBC, adding without mentioning which nations might consider sending troops that France was “not against sending them.”
On 27 February, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov responded by claiming that the deployment of European NATO troops to Ukraine would make a conflict between Russia and NATO unavoidable, according to Reuters.
On the same day, Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, stated that Sweden would not be sending troops to Ukraine, deeming it an irrelevant question for NATO at the moment. Kristersson explained to Swedish broadcaster SVT that their focus is currently on sending advanced materials to Ukraine, as requested, rather than deploying troops, according to The Guardian.
“There are not any requests from Ukraine’s side either for that. That question is not relevant,” Kristersson stated a day after Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s NATO accession.
At a joint press conference with the Polish PM in Prague on the morning of 27 February, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that he is not considering sending any troops to Ukraine, a sentiment echoed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding Poland.
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