Macron's deployment rationale and the fundamental questions of the war in Ukraine

Jungsup Kim

Vice President of Sejong Institute

jungsupkim@sejong.org

French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about a possible military deployment to Ukraine are once again stirring up controversy over the war in Ukraine. "Our future, the future of Europe is at stake," Macron said at a Feb. 27 press conference after an international conference in support of Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, adding that "nothing should be ruled out to achieve the defeat of Russia and the maintaining security in Europe." While nothing was agreed upon, it raised the possibility of European countries sending ground troops to Ukraine. Most European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Poland, quickly dismissed the possibility of deployment. Federal Chancellor Scholz immediately emphasized that "it was agreed from the beginning that no European country or NATO member state would send ground troops, soldiers, to Ukraine, and this applies to the future as well." The White House responded with a statement from the National Security Council(NSC), saying, "President Biden has made it clear that we are not sending troops to fight in Ukraine." NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also reaffirmed that there are "no plans to deploy NATO Alliance combat troops to Ukraine."