Macron Open to Western Troops in Ukraine; Ischinger Supports NATO Options

At the Elysée Palace on Monday evening, in-depth discussions on the Ukraine war wrapped up.

On the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron gathered leaders to talk about bolstering support for Kyiv.

Emmanuel Macron emphasized that we should keep our options open regarding sending Western ground troops to Ukraine in the future, even though he believes there is currently "no consensus" on this matter. This statement prompted a flurry of reactions, with many NATO member states, including Poland, officially stating their refusal to deploy troops to Ukraine.

Wolfgang Ischinger, the ex-Munich Security Conference chief, weighed in on Macron's words. He argues that we cannot discount the involvement of NATO soldiers in the conflict, stating, "In our current standoff with Russia, we must consider all possibilities. Once you rule something out, you essentially give your opponent an advantage in their preparations," Ischinger told WELT.

Members of the German coalition from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens expressed their discontent and criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Monday statement, in which he categorically refused to provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles.

The highly advanced Taurus missiles, owned by the Bundeswehr, were ruled out for supply to Ukraine by Scholz in early October of last year due to concerns they might be used to hit targets within Russian territory.