Britain, the US and Germany have rejected Emmanuel Macron’s threat to put “boots on the ground” in Ukraine after Russia warned it would make war with NATO “inevitable”.
Downing Street insisted there are no plans to deploy British troops to fight alongside Ukraine, in the wake of the French president’s claim that the prospect ‘should not be excluded’.
Joe Biden’s administration said the president had been clear that US troops would not be sent to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Germany issued a thinly veiled rebuke over the speed at which Paris had delivered weapons to Kiev, saying this should be Macron’s focus.
The Tories expressed concern about Putin’s ‘completely unnecessary ramblings’ and said there are better ways to test his ‘long-term commitment’.
The Kremlin seized on Macron’s words as it tried to divide the Western military alliance at a crucial point in the war – which has now raged for two years.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the possibility of NATO troops on the ground was an “important new element.”
“In that case, we should not be talking about the probability, but about the inevitability (of war),” he said.
Downing Street today said there are no plans to use British troops to fight alongside Ukraine.
Members of the Ukrainian army conduct tactical exercises and training for their operations
Emmanuel Macron said in Paris that “boots on the ground” should not be ruled out
Macron said earlier this week that European countries have not ruled out putting boots on the ground.
He said nothing should be ruled out as the West looks for a strategy to counter Russia, which controls just under a fifth of the territory recognized as Ukraine.
“We will do everything we have to do so that Russia does not win,” Macron added.
Asked about the comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: ‘Apart from the small number of staff supporting the armed forces in the country, we have no plans for a large-scale deployment.’
Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the Defense Committee in the House of Commons, said this the Telegraph: ‘The idea of putting boots on the ground, which is so totemic and so symbolic, but is completely unnecessary bluster from Putin when there are other ways to test his long-term commitment to seeing this through. ‘
German Vice Chancellor Robert Haebeck said France should focus on supplying more weapons to Ukrainian forces.
He said: ‘I am happy that France is thinking about how to increase its support for Ukraine, but if I could give the country one piece of advice: get more weapons.’
The US also got involved and denied that American troops would be deployed in Ukraine.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told reporters that Joe Biden “has been clear that the US will not send troops to fight in Ukraine.”
Her colleague Jack Kirby added that US troops were only in Ukraine because of responsibility for the weapons distributed to the troops.
Kirby denied that US troops could be sent for demining, weapons production or cyber operations, as French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne had suggested Western forces could do.
He added that it would be a “sovereign decision” for France or any other NATO country to send troops to Ukraine.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller asked whether the United States could send troops for other purposes, such as training, and said the Biden administration opposed any deployment to Ukraine.
“Apart from the small number of personnel supporting the armed forces in the country, we have no plans for a large-scale deployment,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
Britain has already sent British troops to help train Ukrainian soldiers
“We are not sending boots on the ground in Ukraine. The president has been very clear,” Miller told reporters.
Both the White House and the State Department said the priority was for Congress to approve new military aid to Ukraine.
“Fundamentally, we believe that the path to victory for Ukraine right now is in the House of Representatives,” Miller said.
German Chancellor Olaf Sholz’s deputy, Robert Habeck, took a swipe at the French arms supply that was lagging behind.
“I am happy that France is thinking about how to increase its support to Ukraine, but if I could give the country one piece of advice: get more weapons,” Habeck said.