Europe must prepare to send troops to defend Ukraine, says Macron

London: Europe should consider sending troops to help defend Ukraine if Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces breach its defense lines in their anticipated spring offensive, Emmanuel Macron has said.

The French president, expanding on comments he made in February about a possible military invention, said it was vital that nothing be ruled out because if Russia won in Ukraine, “there would be no security in Europe.”

Macron made the comments in an interview with The Economist after giving a speech last week in which he declared that Europe was “mortal” and could “die” in part because of the threat posed by Russian aggression following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I don’t rule out anything, because we are facing someone who doesn’t rule out anything,” Macron said when asked if he stood by his previous comments about not excluding the sending of Western troops. His views at the time provoked strong rejection from Germany and caused a stir in several other EU states.