Aid for Ukraine – Macron: Sending ground troops “possible”

At the meeting of more than twenty heads of state and government, there was “no consensus” to officially send ground troops, the French president said. “But nothing can be ruled out in dynamics. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia does not win this war.”

“Anything is possible, as long as it helps”
Many people who said “never, never” today are the same people who said two years ago, “never, never tanks, never, never airplanes, never, never longer-range missiles.” Today the discussion is about getting faster and stronger in the delivery of tanks and missiles. “So anything is possible if it helps achieve our goal,” the French president said. Every country can independently and sovereignly decide on the deployment of ground troops.

Before leaving for the meeting in Paris, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of a “dangerous escalation of tensions” with Russia. Individual countries, which he declined to name, were apparently willing to send their own soldiers directly to Ukraine. That would not convince Russia to give in, but it would certainly increase the risk of the conflict spreading.

Nehammer was also concerned about the involvement of Western soldiers. He views any escalation of the war with concern, the APA’s Nehammer said when asked about Czech President Petr Pavel allowing 20 Czechs to fight in the Ukrainian army. “The more NATO states become involved in the conflict, the more uncertain the situation becomes for all of us.”

Use of missiles with a longer range
The meeting decided to form a coalition that would supply Ukraine with medium- and long-range missiles and bombs for attacks far behind Russian lines, the French president said. In the short term, additional ammunition for Ukraine must also be mobilized from our own stocks and from third countries.

According to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, about fifteen countries have expressed interest in his country’s ammunition initiative. The Czech Republic is leading the initiative to raise funds for the rapid purchase of artillery ammunition from third countries for Ukraine. The Netherlands wants to contribute 100 million euros to the initiative, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in Paris.

Cyber ​​defense and mine clearance
They have agreed, among other things, on cyber defense initiatives, the co-production of weapons, military capabilities and ammunition in Ukraine and the defense of countries directly threatened by the Russian offensive in Ukraine, especially Moldova, Macron explained. Macron also said they wanted to support Ukraine on the border with Belarus with non-military forces. It was also about defusing mines.

There is currently no decision to supply French Mirage fighter jets. However, we are still looking at what French military equipment could help Ukraine, said Macron, who wants to travel to Kiev himself in mid-March.

Joint debts to finance armaments?
The conference fundamentally decided to provide more aid to Ukraine more quickly, Macron said. France also supports considerations of using common debt to finance European defense spending in view of the war in Ukraine. As with the Corona crisis, all European countries are affected by Russia’s aggression, which justifies the special route of shared debts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the conference at short notice with a video message, had called for further help so that Russia does not expand its aggression to other countries. He complained on Monday that promised arms deliveries arrived late.