French President Emmanuel Macron question of sending Western troops to Ukraine would "legitimately" arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made such a request, in an interview with The Economist published Thursday, May 2. Macron in the interview doubled down on his comments from earlier this year of not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine, which sent shockwaves through Europe and unsettled allies including Germany. Most of France's allies said at the time they would not send any forces.
The Economist said Macron gave the interview after delivering a landmark speech last week where he declared that Europe is "mortal" and could "die" partly due to the threat posed by Russian aggression after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "I'm not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out," said Macron when asked if he stood by his earlier comments made on February 26.
Macron said "if Russia decided to go further, we will in any case all have to ask ourselves this question" of sending troops, describing his refusal to rule out such a move as a "strategic wake-up call for my counterparts."
His latest comments come as some analysts believe that Russia could be on the verge of launching a major new offensive in Ukraine. Russia said Thursday it had captured another village in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow's forces have been making advances for days. Macron described Russia under President Vladimir Putin as "a power of regional destabilization" and "a threat to Europeans' security."
"I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine," Macron said. "If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe. Who can pretend that Russia will stop there? What security will there be for the other neighboring countries, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and the others?" he asked.
'Hidden Brexiteers'
Macron pointed out that while the Kremlin preferred to use the term "special military operation" early in its invasion, "now Russia itself uses the word 'war' and acknowledges it. "It has broken all the frameworks and has basically returned to a logic of total war," he said. He suggested that Moscow's war machine was not sustainable over the long term. "Devoting a third of its budget to defense is not sustainable for a country whose gross domestic product is lower than that of France, Germany or the United Kingdom," he said.
Hungary, whose Prime Minister Victor Orban is seen as the strongest supporter of Putin within the EU, took issue with Macron's latest statements. "If a NATO member commits ground troops, it will be a direct NATO-Russia confrontation, and then it will be World War III," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Following Macron's initial comments on possible troop deployments, most of France's European allies said they would not send any. But Macron said Europe faced not just a military and security risk but also "an economic risk for our prosperity" and "an existential risk of internal incoherence and disruption to the functioning of our democracies." He added: "Things can fall apart very quickly."
Ahead of the European Parliament elections next month, he warned voters against voting for nationalists. "I say to Europeans: Wake up. Wake up! They are hidden Brexiteers. All European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers. It's all the same lies," he said. "Make no mistake. If you entrust the keys to people who think like they do, there is no reason why Europe should become a great power," he said. "In a way it's as if we were saying it's not a problem if we entrust the bank to robbers. When they are around the table, they take Europe hostage."
Macron gave the example of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, which is now leading in opinion polls for the European contest, ahead of his own centrist alliance. The RN "wanted to pull out of Europe, out of the euro, out of everything," he said. "Now it no longer says anything. It's reaping the benefits of Europe, while wanting to destroy it without saying anything. And that's true in every country," he added.
He noted that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, had "a European approach" and had "supported the asylum and immigration pact." But "after that, the best way of building together is to have as few nationalists as possible," he added.