French FM clarifies which operations may require presence of European troops in Ukraine

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne explained to MPs at a meeting of the National Assembly the words of President Emmanuel Macron regarding the possible deployment of European troops to Ukraine.

"Faced with Russia's aggression, we must consider new actions to support Ukraine. We need to do it differently, to do more for Ukraine," Sejourne clarified the President's position.

According to him, we are talking about operations such as demining, cybersecurity, or weapons production on Ukrainian territory. Some of them may require "presence on Ukrainian territory without crossing the threshold of hostilities," the Foreign Minister added.

As a reminder, the day before the international conference in support of Ukraine in Paris, Emmanuel Macron said that everything must be done to prevent Russia from winning this war. And none of the options, even the participation of European ground troops, should be ruled out to achieve this goal.

These words drew sharp criticism from the far right in the French parliament, in particular from National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.

"What divine right has made France a soldier of every just cause in the world, while the only world empire, the United States, refuses to do the same to them?" said Marine Le Pen during a government hour debate with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

The latter responded by saying that if Le Pen were elected president in 2022, she would be "supplying weapons to Russia herself to defeat the Ukrainians."

Attal noted that after journalists' investigations into the far-right party's close ties with Russia to weaken support for Ukraine, "there is reason to wonder if Vladimir Putin's troops are in our country. I'm talking about you and your troops, Ms. Le Pen," the prime minister said.

As Ukrinform previously reported, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Alliance has no plans to send troops to Ukraine amid reports that some Western countries may consider such a possibility.

Several countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, and Poland, have said they will not send troops to Ukraine. Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom have also made statements.