“Russia must not win”
Macron does not rule out sending Western troops
February 27, 2024, 2:14 a.m
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Paris is far behind Berlin when it comes to arms deliveries to Ukraine. The French president is now organizing a conference to procure missiles for Kiev. While Chancellor Scholz is sending a brake signal with his no to Taurus, Macron is playing with much more far-reaching ideas.
At an international Ukraine conference in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a coalition for medium and long-range missiles for Kiev. In the evening, Macron did not fundamentally rule out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine. “There is currently no consensus on this,” said the President at the end of the Ukraine conference. “But nothing can be ruled out.” Macron emphasized: “We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.”
The populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had previously stated that individual Western countries would consider sending their soldiers to Ukraine. “I didn’t say that France wasn’t open to it,” Macron said. Rather, he admits to a “strategic ambiguity”.
Macron also announced a new coalition to supply medium- and long-range missiles to Ukraine. However, he did not mention which countries should participate in what form. Before the conference began, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had reiterated his negative stance on the deployment of long-range Taurus cruise missiles. “I remind you that two years ago some of this group said that they wanted to deliver sleeping bags and helmets,” said Macron, probably alluding to Germany’s hesitation about arms deliveries at the beginning of the war. “Today they also say that missiles and tanks must be delivered.”
Netherlands gives 100 million euros for ammunition pact
At Macron’s invitation, 21 European heads of state and government met in Paris to discuss further aid to Ukraine. The reason for this is the fact that Russia’s position is becoming increasingly hardened, explained Macron. This can be seen in the planning of new attacks in Ukraine, in the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, but also in destabilization campaigns in Western countries. “The Russian defeat is important for the security of Europe,” emphasized Macron. Ukraine needs to be supported even more and better than before. Macron welcomed Estonia’s proposal to take on common debt to finance military aid to Ukraine.
The Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine from non-European countries was also a topic at the conference. The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that his country wanted to contribute more than 100 million euros. For his part, Macron stated that a plan for the purchase of ammunition would be presented in the coming days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the EU had fallen even further short of its commitment to deliver one million rounds of artillery ammunition in 2023 than was previously known. Only 30 percent have been delivered so far. “That was a careless promise,” said Macron. Representatives of the USA, Canada and Great Britain also took part in the meeting in Paris. The Paris conference offers the opportunity to send a “signal of European unity and unity to both the Ukrainian population and to Russian President (Vladimir) Putin,” it was said in Berlin.
France recently came under criticism because it provided significantly less military aid to Ukraine than Germany. Last year, France said it provided military support worth 2.1 billion euros. In 2022 it was 1.7 billion euros. Up to three billion have been promised for the current year. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany has been the largest European donor of military aid since the start of the war, with a total volume of 17.7 billion euros. Ukraine is entering the third year of the war weakened by the halting military aid from its allies. A US aid package is currently blocked by Republican opposition in the Senate.