The Kremlin warned today that conflict between Russia and NATO would be inevitable if NATO members send troops to fight in Ukraine.
“It is in no way in the interest of these countries. They should know,” Dmitry Peskov stressed in response to yesterday’s statements by French President Emmanuel Macron, who estimated that “it cannot be ruled out” that the possibility of sending Western troops to support Ukraine in its war against Russia “cannot be ruled out”.
“The very fact that there is a discussion about the possibility of sending some troops to Ukraine from NATO countries is a very important new element,” noted the Kremlin representative.
When asked by reporters if there would be a risk of direct conflict between Russia and NATO in the event of Western troops being sent to Ukraine, Peskov replied: “In this case, we should discuss not whether it is possible, but whether is inevitable (an immediate conflict)’.
Ukraine’s reaction
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it positive today that he opened a discussion in the West regarding the possibility of sending ground forces to the war in Ukraine against Russia and added that it shows an awareness of the danger posed to Europe by Russian aggression.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that sending Western ground forces to Ukraine should not be “ruled out” in the future, although he noted that there was no consensus on this, as allies agreed to do more to sending more ammunition to Kiev.
“This shows, first of all, a complete awareness of the dangers posed to Europe by a militaristic, aggressive Russia,” stressed Mykhailo Podoliak in a written statement, commenting on Macron’s statement.
“The fact that he opened a discussion about the possibility of directly supporting Ukraine with armed forces should be seen as a desire to put the right emphasis, to signal the dangers more clearly,” Podoliak added.
At this stage it is important to speed up the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, the adviser to the Ukrainian president also underlined.
The Kremlin warned today that conflict between Russia and NATO would be inevitable if NATO members send troops to fight in Ukraine.
A White House spokesman also told Reuters that the US has no plans to send troops to fight in Ukraine and that there are also no plans to send NATO troops to fight in Ukraine.
Macron’s statement that caused the reactions
The upgrade of Western military aid to Ukraine was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron during a press conference he gave after the work of the international conference to support Ukraine, which was held yesterday Monday in Paris.
A group of states intends to deliver medium- and long-range missiles to Kiev, the French president said, while several European countries said they supported the Czech Republic’s proposal to jointly buy munitions outside Europe on Ukraine’s behalf.
“We will do everything necessary so that Russia does not manage to win this war,” Emmanuel Macron insisted, stressing that “Russia’s defeat is essential for security and stability in Europe.”
President Macron also stated that there are five areas in which all the countries that took part in the conference agree that initiatives should be taken.
It is about cyber security, the co-production of weapons systems, the strengthening of Ukraine’s defense capabilities – especially on its border with Belarus -, the defense of countries that are directly threatened by the Russian attack on Ukraine, such as Moldova, and finally , the provision of assistance to Kiev in the removal of minefields.
What did he say in detail?
“We must move with greater determination towards a war economy,” the French president said, pointing out that there is scope for increasing the European production of weapons systems.
President Macron also stated that “Russia has adopted threatening attitudes not only towards Ukraine, but towards all of us”, while regarding the issue of the deployment of Western military forces on Ukrainian territory, he stated that at this stage there is no consensus for such a thing, but nothing can be ruled out in the future.
The French president also said measures would be taken against countries and companies that violate sanctions against Russia.
President Macron decided that the Ukrainian crisis could be an opportunity for the defense emancipation of Europe and announced that it was decided to convene an international conference on the Ukrainian issue at the level of defense ministers.
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