Ukraine: Macron accepts possibility of need for troops in Ukraine

Commenting on his recent statements on the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview on Thursday that France would “never go on the offensive” but reiterated his goal of making Russia lose.

“We’re not sure we can do it. We’re not in that situation right now, but we’re not ruling out that option for the moment”, Macron said the interview.

While the French President sparked controversy when he declared on 26 February at an international conference on Ukraine in Paris that “nothing had been ruled out” regarding sending troops to Ukraine, he was keen to explain himself to the French people.

He began by assuring the French that France would “never” take the “initiative” in any offensive in Ukraine, but he “accepts the possibility”.

“We are not at war with Russia, but we must not let it win”, he insisted, refuting the idea of a warlike “escalation”, a criticism regularly levelled by his opponents.

“If things were to get out of hand, it would once again be Russia’s responsibility alone”, he added.

As the French parliament voted this week on a Franco-Ukrainian security agreement, the President turned his attacks on the parties that opposed it, such as far-left France Insoumise (LFI, the Left), or abstained, such as Rassemblement National (RN, ID).

In his view, “choosing to abstain or vote against support for Ukraine is not choosing peace, it’s choosing defeat.”

Many in the opposition saw the interview as an electoral move, with all polls predicting defeat for the presidential camp in next June’s European elections, well behind the Rassemblement National.

This televised speech from the Elysée Palace was also intended to rally the French behind him when, according to one poll, 68% disapproved of his stance on the possible deployment of ground troops.

European initiatives

With the Ukrainian counter-offensive faltering and the situation at the front becoming increasingly complex, the French president acknowledged the “limits” of European production of military shells and missiles, even though France has “tripled” its production since the start of the conflict.

Aid to Ukraine is a subject that Emmanuel Macron will raise this Friday in Berlin as part of a joint summit with Poland and Germany. This “Weimar triangle”, pushed by the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a firm ally of Kyiv, intends to step up aid to its Ukrainian ally.

“We cannot rule out taking new initiatives at the European level” to help Ukraine, warns the French President. “If the situation deteriorates, we will be ready (…) to ensure that Russia never wins”.

(Hugo Struna | Euractiv.fr)