French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday (26) a series of measures to strengthen Western powers’ support for Ukraine and did not rule out sending allied troops to the former Soviet republic to defeat Russia.
(AFP) Macron received around thirty European leaders in Paris and announced the creation of a coalition to supply “medium and long-range missiles and bombs” to Ukraine.
“We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable for security and stability in Europe,” said the French president, who warned that Moscow’s positions were “strengthening” on the battlefront and internally.
Macron acknowledged that there is no consensus on sending troops, but added that “we must not rule anything out”. “We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia does not win this war,” he declared.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte denied that the issue had been discussed, but his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico, indicated that some members of NATO and the European Union were considering the initiative.
“Many people who today say ‘never, never’ are the same people who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago, when the invasion began,” said Macron.
Where there was “broad consensus” was on the need to “do more and do it faster” to help Ukraine, which has been incessantly asking for ammunition to be sent quickly in order to contain the Russian advance.
Kiev’s victory or defeat “depends on you”, said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, who took part in the meeting by videoconference.
- ‘Strengthening’ Russia
The meeting was attended by prominent European leaders such as the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz; the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, and the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez.
Of the almost thirty countries taking part, the vast majority were European, with the exception of Canada and the United States, which also sent ministerial representatives to the meeting.
Opening the conference at the Elysée Palace, Macron urged the allies to boost their support for Kiev, which has just entered its third year of war.
“We have seen a strengthening of the Russian side, especially in recent years,” he said.
In his opinion, this was manifested in the death in prison of Vladimir Putin’s main opponent, Alexei Navalny, on February 16, but also on the battlefront, where Moscow is planning “new attacks”.
The conference shows Macron’s willingness to present himself as a European defender of the Ukrainian cause, amid fears of a decline in American support, especially in the face of the possibility of a Donald Trump return to the White House.
In an interview with CNN, Zelensky accused the favorite in the Republican primaries of putting himself “on Putin’s side” and warned that millions of Ukrainians could die if the US Congress does not authorize a new aid package for Kiev.
- Risk of Ukrainian defeat
Western leaders recognize the risk that Russia will impose itself on the conflict in 2024, when Ukraine runs out of weapons and ammunition.
After the failed counter-offensive launched last summer, Ukrainian troops have been compromised at the front and have ceded important positions to Russian forces.
In mid-February, the Ukrainian army withdrew from Avdiivka, on the eastern front, in Russia’s biggest victory since taking Bakhmut in May 2023.
On Monday, the army also announced its withdrawal from the nearby town of Lastochkyne in order to “organize the defense” against the Russian offensive, which has strengthened at the cost of significant human losses.
At the same time as the Paris conference, Zelensky criticized the European Union for having supplied only 30% of the one million artillery shells it had promised.
“It’s clear that we didn’t have this million” of ammunition, declared Macron, who admitted “an imprudent commitment”.
Against this backdrop, several European countries, including France, welcome a proposal by the Czech Republic for the EU to buy ammunition from outside the bloc to send to Ukraine.
cf-sjw/tjc/zm/sag-dbh/mel/am *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***