PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron sent shockwaves across Europe on Tuesday as he refused to rule out the possibility of deploying Western ground troops to Ukraine in response to the ongoing Russian invasion.
The statement came after Macron hosted a conference of European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda, seeking to bolster support for Ukraine, which faces mounting challenges on the battlefield and a diminishing supply of ammunition.
Macron painted a bleak picture of Russia under President Vladimir Putin, highlighting what he described as a recent “change of posture” towards a more aggressive stance, both domestically and in Ukraine.
“While there was ‘no consensus’ on sending Western ground troops to Ukraine, ‘nothing should be excluded’,” Macron stated firmly, underscoring the determination to prevent Russia from achieving victory in the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded cautiously to Macron’s remarks, emphasizing that sending Western troops to Ukraine was “absolutely not in the interests of these countries.”
Macron faced criticism domestically, with the far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella accusing him of “losing his cool” and risking the involvement of French troops against a nuclear power. However, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal reaffirmed Macron’s stance, asserting that “you can’t rule anything out in a war.”
Europe’s Response to Crisis in Ukraine
Macron also took aim at Germany, suggesting that Europe had been slow to respond to the crisis in Ukraine, but emphasized the need for a united front against Russia’s aggression.
“There is in our eyes a change of posture on the part of Russia,” Macron declared, stressing that Russia’s aggression was not limited to Ukraine but posed a threat to Europe as a whole.
Macron announced plans to establish a new coalition to supply Ukraine with advanced weaponry for deep strikes, with support from various European leaders, including Czech Premier Petr Fiala and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Despite growing doubts about long-term US support for Ukraine, Macron urged Europe to take decisive action without waiting for the outcome of US elections, asserting that “it’s our future, Europe’s future that is at stake.”
