French president does not rule out Western soldiers in Ukraine

GENEVA

French President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine “to ensure that Russia does not win this war.”

“There is no consensus today that ground troops should be deployed in an official, accepted and endorsed way. But nothing should be ruled out in the dynamic," Macron said at a press conference on Monday evening in Paris.

He added: "We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war."

Macron's comments came after a special summit in Paris in support of Ukraine.

A total of 21 European heads of state and government as well as representatives from the US, Canada and the UK had gathered at the Elysee Palace on Macron's initiative.

In his statement, Macron pointed out that many people who are saying "never, never" today are the same people who said two years ago: "Never, never tanks, never, never planes, never, never longer-range missiles."

“On the Ukrainian front, positions are getting tougher and we also know that Russia is preparing new attacks, particularly to confuse the Ukrainian public,” the French president continued.

The president also announced the creation of a coalition for strikes and supply of medium and long-range missiles and bombs.

France's Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also did not rule out the deployment of ground troops to Ukraine.

“Nothing can be ruled out in a war in the heart of Europe,” Attal told French radio station RTL on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, before his departure for Paris, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of an escalation in the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to media representatives in Bratislava, Fico said that some members of NATO and the European Union were considering sending their own soldiers to Ukraine.

The agenda of the conference in Paris "sends a shiver of fear down the spine," Fico continued. The word "peace" was not even mentioned in the announcements of the Paris conference; instead, all the plans hinted at were associated with "huge security risks," the Slovakian leader added.

Several countries, including Germany, France, Italy, and Canada, have recently concluded bilateral security agreements with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took part in the conference in Paros via video link, complained on Monday that Ukraine has so far received less than a third of the one million artillery shells promised by the EU.