Emmanuel Macron has said that sending Western ground troops to Ukraine could not be “ruled out” at a meeting convened to ramp up Europe’s support for Kyiv.

“There is no consensus at this stage... to send troops on the ground,” the French president said. “Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win.”

Mr Macron delivered the remarks at a hastily arranged meeting of 20 European leaders in Paris, convened to discuss how to ramp up ammunition supplies to Ukraine amid what his advisers say is an escalation in Russian aggression over the past few weeks.

Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, who has opposed military aid to Ukraine, said several NATO and EU members were considering sending soldiers to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.

“I can confirm there are countries that are prepared to send their own troops to Ukraine, there are countries that say never, among which Slovakia belongs, and there are countries that say this proposal needs to be considered,” he said.

Follow the latest updates below