There are no plans for Western boots on the ground, multiple leaders have insisted
The UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, and Sweden all spoke up on Tuesday against French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that Western troops could be deployed to Ukraine.
While there was no consensus about sending ground forces, Macron said on Monday following a pro-Ukraine summit in Paris that “in terms of dynamics, we cannot exclude anything” in the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
There are “no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine,” the secretary-general of the US-led bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, told AP in response to Macron’s remarks.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not rule out sending troops in principle, but his spokesperson told reporters that “beyond the small number of personnel in [the] country supporting the armed forces [of Ukraine], we do not have any plans to make a large-scale deployment.”
Deploying troops is “not on the cards at all for the moment,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the public broadcaster SVT, adding that “for the moment, we’re busy sending advanced equipment to Ukraine.” Stockholm pledged military aid worth 7.1 billion kronor ($682 million) to Kiev last week. Kristersson also said there is currently “no demand” from Ukraine for Western ground troops.