Macron raises the issue of deploying NATO ground forces in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out the possibility that Western ground forces could be deployed in Ukraine.

"Today, there is no consensus on the issue of officially sending ground troops (to Ukraine), but in a dynamic development, nothing can be ruled out," Macron said after a conference on assisting Ukraine in Paris on Monday evening, 26 February, DW reports.

Everything possible will be done "to prevent Russia from winning this war," the French president was quoted as saying by dpa. Earlier in the day, Macron called for more weapons and resources to be provided to Ukraine.

Speaking before the conference, which was attended by the heads of about two dozen states and governments, including representatives of Canada and the United States, the French president said that today the security of all "is under threat".

According to Macron, Russia's behaviour is now intensifying both at the political level and in the course of its aggressive war against Ukraine, so everyone who supports Ukraine "needs to make a collective breakthrough".

At the same time, he noted that he did not want to "go to war with the Russian people".

Earlier in the day, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Russian stance, speaking in Bratislava before heading to Paris for a conference convened by Macron, said that some Western countries were considering sending their troops to Ukraine on the basis of bilateral agreements.

"Several NATO and EU member states are involved," he said, without specifying which countries, citing "confidential information," AFP reports.

According to Macron, the conference in Paris decided to create a coalition to provide Ukraine with medium- and long-range missiles, as well as other ammunition from European stockpiles and third countries in the short term.

In addition, cyber defence initiatives, joint arms production, and the defence of countries directly threatened by a Russian offensive, especially Moldova, were agreed upon.

Following the Paris meeting, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that about 15 countries had expressed interest in Prague's initiative to purchase artillery ammunition from third countries and re-import it to Ukraine. In particular, the Netherlands is ready to participate and provide €100 million, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.