Kremlin: No unity in Europe over troop deployment to Ukraine

Representatives of Europe's political elite have yet to reach a consensus on sending troops—or even private military specialists—from their respective countries to support Ukraine, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.  

However, the idea has sparked active discussions among some politicians, he added, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Peskov commented on reports from the French newspaper Le Monde, which suggested that European elites are revisiting the topic of potential troop deployments to Ukraine.

The discussions reportedly stem from concerns about a possible withdrawal of US support for Kyiv under a future Donald Trump administration.

“We do not know how accurate these reports are,” Peskov remarked. “In the past, such ideas were indeed voiced from various European capitals, but there were also counterarguments against them.”

The Kremlin spokesperson acknowledged that European leaders are far from united on the matter. “There is no unity of opinion among Europeans on this issue, but, of course, there are always a few ‘hotheads,’” he added.

The renewed debate highlights ongoing uncertainty within Europe regarding the long-term trajectory of its support for Ukraine.

On February 26, 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron said that at a meeting in Paris with the participation of representatives of about 20 Western countries, the topic of possible sending ground troops of Western countries to Ukraine was raised. According to him, the participants did not reach a consensus on this issue at that time, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out in the future.

Peskov said at the time that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, up to irreparable ones.

By Khagan Isayev