Afrasianet - French President Emmanuel Macron's comments on the war in Ukraine have sparked widespread reactions at the European level and in the French political arena, rejecting his proposal to send Western troops to fight on the ground. The White House has confirmed that Washington will not send troops to the battlefield, and NATO has also ruled out. The Kremlin warned that the move would "not be in the interest" of the West.

French President Emmanuel Macron , who said at the end of an international conference in support of Ukraine, said the "dispatch" of Western troops to  Ukraine should not be ruled out.

But ironically, the French president was surprised by his foreign minister saying that the French were not ready to die in Ukraine.

In fact, according to reliable European reports, there are already fighters from all over Europe fighting alongside the Ukrainian army.

According to the Washington Post, there is indeed the so-called International Legion, which includes more than twenty thousand volunteers, and there are Ukrainian facilities and temptations, including that the volunteer can obtain Ukrainian citizenship if he joins the Ukrainian army.

The matter does not stop at the limits of volunteers, but there are hundreds of Western intelligence elements working within the units of the Ukrainian army, the most important of which are the elements that follow the CIA  ,  these elements have already existed since 2014, and this is considered an official American presence, as for the number of volunteers, perhaps the number is more than announced, according to media reports.

The Kremlin responds by warning that sending troops to Ukraine "would not be in the interest" of the West. where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the mere raising of this possibility constituted a "very important new element" in the conflict.

When asked about the risk of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia if military forces were sent to Ukraine, Peskov replied: "In this case we have to talk not about the possibility but about the inevitability" of confrontation.

At the Paris  conference   in support of Ukraine organized by France, Macron also acknowledged that there was "no consensus today to send ... Troops on the ground," but added: "Nothing should be ruled out. We will do everything necessary so that Russia  cannot win this war."

"Many of the people who say 'never' today are the same people who used to say 'no to tanks, no to planes, never to long-range missiles—  two years ago," when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Responding to Macron's proposal, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sigourne explains  that Westerners should "consider new moves in support of Ukraine" such as demining, cyber operations or "the production of weapons... on Ukrainian territory," he said, noting that "some of these operations may require a presence on Ukrainian territory without crossing the threshold of military action."

Therefore, there are no troops to fight the Russian army directly. The French are not ready to die in Ukraine.

The UK admits that a "small number" of people sent by London were in Ukraine "to support the Ukrainian armed forces, particularly in relation to medical training," according to a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. "We are not planning a major deployment," he said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that "no soldier" will be sent to Ukraine, whether from European countries or from NATO, explaining that "what was agreed from the beginning also applies to the future, which is that there will be no troops on Ukrainian territory sent from European countries or NATO countries."

The White House said the United States would not send troops to fight in Ukraine. U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson said: "President Biden has been clear about this that the United States will not send troops to fight in Ukraine."

Watson made the remarks as Biden met with top White House lawmakers to discuss funding issues, including aid to Ukraine.

In turn , the Italian government stressed that its support for Kiev "does not mean the presence of troops from European countries or NATO on Ukrainian territory."

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for "extreme caution" on the subject because "we must not appear to be at war with Russia."

Spain "does not agree" to Macron's proposal and the duo formed by Poland and the Czech Republic "does not intend to send troops to Ukraine", according to the leaders of the two countries.

But the Swedish prime minister, whose country will soon become NATO's 32nd member, says there  is "no demand" from Kiev for ground troops, so "the issue is not on the table", without ruling out that possibility in the future.

NATO itself rules out sending any troops to the battlefield. A NATO official told AFP: "NATO and allies are providing unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine. We've been doing this since 2014 and we've moved to a higher pace. But there are no plans to deploy NATO combat forces on the ground in Ukraine."

Since receiving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in mid-February at the Elysee Palace to sign a bilateral security agreement, Macron has painted a very bleak picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions and is keen to present himself at the forefront of Kiev's supporters.

In French politics, the proposal to send troops to Ukraine has sparked condemnation from the opposition of all parties, from the extreme left to the far right, through the Socialists and the right.

 French Prime Minister Gabrielle Attal said there was "reason to wonder whether Vladimir Putin's forces are really there" in France, specifically targeting Marine Le Pen, in a heated debate in parliament with the far-right deputy, the frontrunner to win France's 2027 presidential election.

Some accuse Macron of being hysterical, perhaps after his defeats in Africa, and he believes that these defeats occurred due to Russian interventions, forgetting that French colonialism was tasked with plundering African wealth and enslaving peoples, and this is what has become unacceptable to Africans.

But French President Emmanuel Macron sayshe has spoken consciously of the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, saying he has "weighed" his words and "thought them carefully."

Macron said in a press statement during a visit to the future Olympic Village on the outskirts of Paris, that "these are very serious topics. Every word I say about it is weighed, thought out and verified."

At the same time, the head of state refused to make "geopolitical comments" on the matter, calling for not to confuse the subject of the Ukrainian conflict with the opening of the Olympic Village, noting that "sport must promote unity and peace."

Macron's response that he was fully conscious , came after his remarks in which he said "we cannot rule out" sending "Western troops" to Ukraine were described as "crazy."

Analysts say Macron's  toughening rhetoric is a result of the failure of a highly publicized Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023.

Indeed, in his speech, Macron signaled France's readiness to escalate the conflict. In this, he shares the view with his British colleague Rishi Sunak, who additionally calls for bolder action on the issue of confiscation of Russian assets.

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has apparently not forgotten how the recent military confrontation with Russia ended for Germany, strongly objects to sending Toros cruise missiles to Ukraine.

When it comes to France, Macron's initiatives there have been met with a harsh reaction from politicians.

Not only do the French disagree with their president, but his NATO allies do not agree with him. Neither Poland nor Sweden plans to send troops to Ukraine. Even NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stated directly that there are no such plans.

Macron has clearly stated what he would like to do, but he cannot implement it, at least for now. It is impossible to imagine that French forces would operate on Ukrainian soil alone, outside NATO, as are those of other Western countries.

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserts that there are not only foreign mercenaries in Ukraine, but also regular officers from the armies of other countries, including the British and French.  

"Before the coup (in Ukraine), the Americans worked in the ministries in the hundreds, just as they now have mercenaries, but in reality there are regular officers: there are British and French, and we know this very well," Lavrov said during a speech at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum. The  Financial Times, citing an unnamed European official, reports the presence of Western special forces in Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly announced the elimination of mercenaries from NATO countries and recorded their presence in the area of special military operations.

 In particular, at the end of last year during an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry's board of directors, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that since the beginning of the special operation, more than 5.8 thousand foreign fighters have been killed, including from NATO countries: 1,427 from Poland, 466 from the United States and 344 from Britain.