Rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia have brought the world to a critical tipping point. In an effort to protect Ukraine and defend democracy and sovereignty, French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a possible coalition to provide arms and ground troops to Ukraine.
However, hopes for a European and NATO intervention to help Ukraine appear to be diminishing. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made it clear that Germany will not send troops to Ukrainian soil, reaffirming the coalition’s agreement not to get involved in a military escalation in the region. This stance has also been echoed by other NATO allies, such as the United Kingdom, which continues to provide logistical support and supplies to Ukraine, but has no plans for a large-scale troop deployment.
These statements did not take long to provoke a response from the Kremlin, which warned about the serious consequences of a possible deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. According to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian Presidency, this would lead to the inevitable outbreak of a full-scale conflict with NATO. He further assured that Russia would take direct action in this situation.
This rejection of ground troops raises concerns about the Ukrainian military’s ability to defend itself against Russian aggression. With a shortage of soldiers and weapons, Ukraine is in a vulnerable position and in urgent need of assistance. And while the international community condemns the Russian invasion and calls for a diplomatic resolution, it remains to be seen how Ukraine can be supported without the presence of ground troops.
In this way, different leaders and governments have been joining Germany’s position of not sending troops to Ukraine, stressing that they will support the country with other means to face the Russian invasion. The lack of consensus and agreement among NATO allies is evident on this issue, but all agree not to involve their soldiers in the conflict.