From: Atlantic Council By Karsten Friis
French President Emmanuel Macron created shockwaves in Europe (again) recently, when he stated that “nothing should be excluded” when discussing the possibility of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine.
Unsurprisingly, Germany had a different message: “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,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
The sentiment from Berlin—no Western troops on the ground in Ukraine—was echoed in statements from the White House, and from London, Rome, Madrid, and other capitals. Yet in an interview on March 14, Macron declined again to rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
Macron has a point: the deployment of troops from NATO members in Ukraine—in noncombatant positions—should not be categorically ruled out. A future mission to train Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine conducted by, for example, British or German troops might be possible. In some scenarios, it would be more efficient to bring instructors to Ukraine than to send Ukrainian troops to Germany or the United Kingdom. Similarly, as the French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné has stated, tasks such as assisting with mine clearance, production of weapons, and cyber defense are all possible to envisage being done with direct Western help in Ukraine in the near future.
Voice of Ukraine 