Minister: Poland to support NATO forces in Ukraine without direct military involvement

Poland will support NATO countries that decide to send troops to Ukraine but will not do so itself, said Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in a policy speech before the country’s parliament (Sejm).

"Some countries are considering sending their troops to Ukraine. We will not send troops, but we will support the mission," Sikorski stated, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

He added that "without Poland, providing assistance to Ukraine would be impossible." In this context, Sikorski reminded that more than 90% of Western military aid reaches Ukraine through the “Jasionka” airport in Rzeszów, Poland.

French President Emmanuel Macron, following the “coalition of the willing” summit in Paris on March 27, announced that several coalition members are planning to send “deterrent forces” to Ukraine.

Macron emphasised that this Franco-British initiative would not replace Ukrainian forces, and the “deterrent forces” would not be peacekeepers. Their aim would be to “deter” Russia, and they would be deployed in strategic locations pre-agreed with Ukraine.

Macron acknowledged that not all countries agreed with the initiative, but said its implementation did not require full consensus.

The press bureau of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) earlier reported that the West intends to deploy a so-called peacekeeping contingent of about 100,000 troops to Ukraine to restore the country’s combat capability. The SVR believes this would amount to a de facto occupation of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the deployment of peacekeepers is only possible with the consent of all parties involved in a conflict.

On March 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that Russia sees no room for compromise on the issue of deploying foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine. Lavrov noted that if a foreign contingent were deployed, Western countries would no longer seek conditions for a peaceful resolution, as such a contingent would create “facts on the ground.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry had earlier called the plans by some EU countries to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine a provocative step aimed at fueling unrealistic expectations among the authorities in Kyiv.

By Tamilla Hasanova