Kremlin warns of war with NATO if European members send troops to Ukraine
The Kremlin warned that a conflict would erupt between Russia and NATO if its European members send troops to fight in Ukraine — just a day after French President Emmanuel Macron said deploying soldiers was not off the table.
“The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries is a very important new element,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday.
“In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability (of a direct conflict),” he added.
Peskov’s comments were directed at Macron, who hosted a meeting of some 20 European leaders in Paris on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine
While the French president said there was no consensus on sending troops to the front lines, he added that “nothing should be excluded” in terms of making sure Russia does not come out the victor.
Peskov warned the West to consider whether fighting in Ukraine and risking a war is in the best interest of its citizens.
News that European allies were considering sending troops to Ukraine was broken by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico prior to the Paris conference.
Fico, who has previously opposed sending military supplies to Ukraine, said his nation would not take part in such a tactic, with other NATO members following suit.
A White House official told Reuters that the US, which along with Russia holds the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world, has no plans to send troops to fight in Ukraine.
Along with the Netherlands, Germany has also dismissed such a plan, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz openly rejecting the idea on Tuesday.
“Once again, in a very good debate, it was discussed that what was agreed from the outset among ourselves and with each other also applies to the future, namely that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or NATO states,” Scholz said.
Germany is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in Europe, but Berlin has been wary of escalating tensions with Russia, and much like the US, debates have stalled the supply of weapons Kyiv has asked for.
With fears of Russia’s encroachment in Eastern Europe, Sweden has finally joined NATO on Monday after 200 years of the nation’s military self-reliance that has kept it neutral through global wars.
Sweden’s membership suggests the peacemaker nation, which has stood at odds with conflicts inside other NATO countries over humanitarian issues, is wary of standing alone against a possible Russian invasion similar to the situation Ukraine finds itself in.
While NATO bolsters its forces with the addition of Sweden, officials have reiterated that the alliance does not seek a direct conflict with Russia.
“Neither NATO nor NATO allies are party to the conflict,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized in a statement on Feb. 14.
