Poland, Germany, Britain, and other European countries said on Tuesday that they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine after France hinted at this possibility. “Poland does not foresee sending its units into Ukraine’s territory,” said the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage.
“Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win,” Macron told reporters at a hastily convened gathering of European leaders in Paris to mull how to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Macron’s comments come amid battlefield gains by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and growing shortages of ammunition and manpower on the Ukrainian side.Shared conviction with our partners tonight: Russia cannot and must not win in Ukraine.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 27, 2024
However, Germany, Britain, Spain, Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic distanced themselves on Tuesday from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the Ukraine war, now in its third year.
“...There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the sidelines of an event.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was equally adamant.We agreed that everyone must do more for Ukraine in Paris yesterday. Ukraine needs weapons, ammunition and air defence. We are working on it. It is clear: there will be no ground troops from European countries or NATO. That applies.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 27, 2024
“Boots on the ground is not an option for...Germany,” he told reporters during a visit to Vienna.
“I’m glad if France is considering how to support Ukraine more strongly, but if I can make a suggestion, then send more weapons,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said.
No plans to send soldiers into Ukraine: PM Tusk
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Poland has no plans to send soldiers into Ukraine.
Tusk was speaking after meeting his Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, on Tuesday morning during a visit to Prague to attend a summit of the Visegrád Group, a grouping of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak republics.
At a joint press conference, both Tusk and Fiala said troop deployments to Ukraine were not on the table, though both reiterated their support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
“Poland does not foresee sending its units into Ukraine’s territory,” Tusk said, adding that this was a “common position” of two countries that had been “more engaged than most in helping Ukraine in its military effort.”Dziękuję za zaproszenie @P_Fiala! Przed nami ważne rozmowy w Pradze z Premierami Grupy Wyszehradzkiej. Głównym tematem bezpieczeństwo Europy i regionu. pic.twitter.com/VGygvLJCtp
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) February 27, 2024
“I don’t think we should speculate today on the future, on whether conditions will occur that change that position, today we should concentrate, as the Polish and Czech governments are doing, on supporting Ukraine to the maximum in its military effort,” Tusk said.
The Polish Prime Minister went on to say that “if all European Union countries engaged in helping Ukraine like Poland and the Czech Republic are, perhaps there would be no need to discuss other forms of supporting Ukraine.”
