Macron's noble plan to send NATO troops to Ukraine has been rebuked by his NATO and EU partners.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...roops-to-ukraine-after-nato-membership-agreed
Snippets:
Emmanuel Macron has faced criticism from France’s Nato and EU partners and a warning of conflict from Russia after he suggested it might be necessary to send ground troops to Ukraine.
After a high-level meeting in Paris of mainly European partners to discuss what urgent steps could be taken to shore up
Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s recent frontline advances, the French president told a press conference he did not rule out sending troops.
He said he accepted no consensus existed for the plan, but in a taboo-breaking move he said nothing should be ruled out to achieve the defeat of
Russia and the maintenance of security in Europe. “Today there is no consensus about sending ground troops in an official way, standing up for it and taking responsibility for it,” he said.
Allies were quick to rule out sending combat troops to Ukraine. White House national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said: “President Biden has been clear that the US will not send troops to fight in Ukraine,” while the Kremlin warned the appearance of
Nato troops in Ukraine would make a direct confrontation with Russia inevitable.
Nato also announced on Tuesday afternoon that there were “no plans for Nato combat troops” in Ukraine. Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, rejected the idea, as did Downing Street.
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The underlying problem is that European leaders have discovered they have not been able to direct an acceleration in arms manufacturing in Europe, and point to peacetime restrictions slowing progress such as planning permission needed to expand production lines. Ukrainian officials have said they require a minimum of nearly 200,000 shells a month, but Europe’s collective output remains only about 50,000 a month, according to an Estonian intelligence analysis – only some of which now go to Ukraine.
Macron did find an ally in Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister. “Europe’s fate is being decided on the battlefields of Ukraine. Times like these require political leadership, ambition and courage to think out of the box,” he said.