Following a Feb. 26 European leaders conference in Paris about strengthening support for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that despite the lack of consensus on sending ground troops to Ukraine, “nothing could be ruled out.”
Other EU leaders promptly denied that any such plan was on the cards, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. However, Macron stands by his position.
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Ukrainian member of parliament Oleksiy Honcharenko recently visited Paris as head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) migration committee. In exclusive comments to Kyiv Post, he opened up on the topic.
“It's a completely new discussion, so a lot of people are really scared of it,” Honcharenko said.
“And it was Macron who removed the taboo from this topic, changing the boundaries of possible support for Ukraine. And everything always starts with one country.”
Honcharenko voiced his endorsement of the French president’s initiative, stating that it is currently “in the process of implementation.” He added that when it comes to Western troops on Ukraine’s territory, the more “the better.”
“We need it from a practical standpoint as sending our own troops abroad is a very complex process in terms of logistics and time. But it also has a political significance, as the next step after the supply of weapons,” the politician explained.
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He added that a subsequent phase could entail the direct involvement of a foreign military contingent in hostilities.
“While this may not be feasible at present, the current initiative sets us on that trajectory,” he said.
Serious decision
Honcharenko is clear that when it comes to deploying Western troops on the territory of a country that is at full-scale war with a nuclear state, “this is a very serious decision that will have very serious consequences.”
He admits that many countries do not want to participate but suggested that several states are ready to join a coalition under the leadership of Paris.
“France is forming a coalition of allies, which is expected to include Poland as well as the Baltic states. The search among other European countries is still ongoing,” Honcharenko said.
“I cannot confirm that there is a serious conversation about the deployment of French troops along the Dnipro River. In my opinion, there are just hypothetical scenarios… Regarding the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, this is what is really being discussed. We are talking about the deployment of a Western police mission to free Ukrainian military personnel from that direction. This would allow for the strengthening of the Eastern and Southern directions,” Honcharenko said.
French readiness to bolster military support for Ukraine
Macron's statement in late February launched a public discussion on the issue of Western boots on the ground in Ukraine by top officials and media commentators in France.
Le Monde published an opinion article by Pierre Schill, the French chief of army staff, titled “The French army is ready”, claiming that France “has the capacity to commit one division, i.e. around 20,000 men, to a coalition within 30 days.”
Paris is working on building an alliance of countries that are open to potentially sending Western troops to Ukraine to help in areas like demining, Politico reported.
At a meeting in Lithuania with his Baltic and Ukrainian counterparts, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said: “It is not for Russia to tell us how we should help Ukraine in the coming months or years. It is not for Russia to organize how we deploy our actions, or to set red lines. So we decide it among us.”
Meanwhile, Ambassador of France to Ukraine Gaël Veyssière said at the 16th annual Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) that Paris does not have any “red lines.”
“For us, this is a very powerful signal that we are strengthening our support for Ukraine. We will not hold ourselves back by any boundaries… This is not something agreed with our friends and partners.
That's what we think, but there are some countries that are interested in these ideas. This is being discussed,” the diplomat said.
Authority required
Honcharenko explained that the French president has the constitutional authority to make the decision on sending French troops to Ukraine. He also played down the idea that this would cause discontent among representatives of both executive and legislative power.
“The French government is formed by Macron, and he has a majority in the parliament,” Honcharenko made clear.
During his recent working trip to Paris, the politician met with his French colleagues to better understand President Macron's stance.
"There are different opinions among French parliamentarians, depending on their political affiliation... This is why Macron signed a security agreement with Ukraine that does not require ratification in parliament,” he said.
Speaking about the division in French politics, Honcharenko confirmed that the far-left and far-right do not support the sending of French troops to Ukraine, even for training purposes.
“This is only their political stance, which currently has no impact on decision-making,” he added.
Ukraine’s position on direct western involvement
At a press conference earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that the entire range of training missions of Western countries operated on the territory of Ukraine in 2014-2022.
“I sincerely don’t understand why the issue of training missions in Ukraine is causing so much difficulty and discussion. Between 2014 and 2022, the entire spectrum of training missions worked very effectively in Ukraine. I see no reason why this cannot continue. Bring back your training missions, put your air defense to protect the training centers,” Kuleba said.
Honcharenko explained that a vote of the Verkhovna Rada would be required to approve a full-fledged military base in Ukraine or where large foreign units would be deployed. Under that scenario, he believes the majority “will definitely support such steps.”
However, if inviting individual instructors, he clarified that such approval would not be required as that would be decided at the level of the president, commanders-in-chief of the armed forces, as well as general staff of both countries. “The military can also be involved as advisers or instructors within a certain military mission,” Honcharenko explained.
Next steps
Macron made clear in an interview with “1+1” and “We – Ukraine” TV channels that his upcoming trip to Ukraine will include “concrete proposals and decisions.”
In the meantime, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that the visit of his French counterpart “will take place in the near future.” He stressed that despite Russian attacks on Ukraine, “the visit is not canceled and it will definitely take place.”
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