France's Proposal of Ground Troops in Ukraine Sparks Tension and Denials Across Europe

France's suggestion that Ukraine's allies could potentially send ground troops into Ukraine has caused indignation and outrage in Russia, with officials warning that it could provoke a direct conflict between Russia and NATO member states.

Macron's Controversial Statement

Eyebrows were raised Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that European heads of state and Western officials, who met in Paris on Monday, had talked about the possibility of sending ground troops into Ukraine.

Russian Response

Moscow was quick to seize on the comments, with the Kremlin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov telling reporters Tuesday that if European NATO members sent troops to fight in Ukraine it would make a conflict between Russia and NATO inevitable.

International Reactions

European allies have been quick to play down the comments, with Germany issuing a hasty denial Tuesday that it had any plans to put "German troops on Ukrainian soil." The U.K. and Spain also publicly rejected the idea, which would see troops from NATO member states in direct conflict with longtime nemesis and nuclear power Russia.

German Denial

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted there was no consensus on deploying ground troops among European leaders and officials from the U.K., Canada and U.S. who met in Paris on Monday.

UK and Spain's Rejection

A spokesman for the U.K.'s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country had no plans for a "large-scale" deployment of troops to Ukraine, separate from the small number of personnel that were already in the country to support Ukraine's armed forces.

Madrid has also publicly refuted the notion, with government spokesperson Pilar Alegria saying Spain does not agree with a French proposal to send European ground troops to Ukraine. She added that Spain wanted to limit aid to sending more weapons and other materials to Kyiv.

NATO's Stand

Later Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the Associated Press news agency that NATO has no plans to send combat troops into Ukraine.