Placing NATO troops inside Ukraine is “clearly” building momentum as more countries in Europe are coming around to the idea after Emmanuel Macron said he will not rule out sending French soldiers to the war-torn country.
Macron’s spokesperson has said more European countries are considering the idea of sending troops into Ukraine which could form part of a “tripwire” to relieve some of Kyiv’s troops.
This would ultimately “turn the tables” on Vladimir Putin as his troops are rapidly gaining more territory in a land grab, said, Benjamin Haddad, a member of parliament for Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party.
In March, Macron warned allies that we are “approaching a moment in our Europe” and he urged them “not to be a coward” as now is the time to step up to the mark.
Read more related news:
Kremlin warns they will strike UK targets if British weapons strike Russian Federation
The French President said that both France and the Czech Republic are “well aware that war is back on our soil (Europe), that some powers which have become unstoppable are extending every day their threat of attacking us even more, and that we will have to live up to history and the courage that it requires.”
The Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the Lithuanian Prime Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Czech President Petr Pavel and the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski have all given their support to have a detailed conversation on the subject.
Haddad told Newsweek, “This is important because these countries are on the first line, and these are countries that have had distrust towards Paris and Berlin for a long time.”
He added that “clearly” momentum is building, after “in the first couple days, everyone said, ‘It’s an isolated position by France’,” who will not rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
Haddad added, “We spend too much time being worried about escalation where when Russia is the country that has been escalating.
“Right now, a lot of Ukrainian troops are stationed at the border with Belarus to prevent a potential invasion from the north.
“Western forces could be deployed along the frontier as a tripwire – as you have troops in the Baltic states or in Poland – to be able to liberate some of these Ukrainian troops to go to the front.”
Haddad insisted there is the need for a “coordinated” mission in Ukraine as “no country can do it on its own” because Putin has more than 510,000 troops on the frontlines.
Haddad added, “It’s been concerning for a while. We see a Russia that’s ramping up aggression, that’s turned its industry to complete war economy footage, and I think we’ve been lagging in our response, both in Europe and in the United States.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We have repeatedly said that direct intervention on the ground in this conflict by the military of NATO countries potentially carries enormous danger, so we consider this an extremely challenging provocation, nothing less, and, of course, we are watching this very carefully.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico also noted that some NATO and EU members are considering to send troops to Ukraine.
