The prime minister of Slovakia has claimed that Nato and EU member states are preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine.
Robert Fico, a pro-Russia populist, offered no details of how Western soldiers could be sent to assist Ukraine, and commentators said he was probably just trying to stir up trouble.
He was speaking ahead of a hastily-arranged meeting of European leaders in Paris because of what his advisers say is an escalation in Russian aggression over the past few weeks.
The meeting implies that “a number of Nato and EU member states are considering that they will send their troops to Ukraine on a bilateral basis”, Mr Fico told a televised briefing following a meeting of Slovakia’s security council.
“I cannot say for what purpose and what they should be doing there,” he said, adding that Slovakia, a member of the EU and Nato, would not be sending soldiers to Ukraine.
Mr Fico, who was elected last October, said the move could risk an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, but could not offer more information.
It was not clear whether he was referring to the prospect of Western troops being deployed to Ukraine while the war is still raging.
Nato allies have spent billions of pounds providing arms to Kyiv and are training Ukrainian forces in the West, but Western capitals have refused to consider boots on the ground to avoid entering a direct conflict with Russia.
However, this has not prevented planning for future training deployments to enhance Kyiv’s military after the war comes to an end.
Before he stood down, Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, suggested Britain would station more troops in Ukraine than it ever had before.
The UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and other Western nations have long-term security agreements with Kyiv that raise the prospect of similar training missions.
Asked about the comments, Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister said: “The Czech Republic certainly is not preparing to send any soldiers to Ukraine, nobody has to worry about that.”
Mr Fico was propelled to office on a promise to halt military aid to Ukraine and oppose Western sanctions on Russia.
The Slovak leader has since performed a U-turn on his central campaign pledge, and private arms exports continue to flow into Kyiv.
His rise to power in a country that neighbours Ukraine was one of the initial signs of a growing fatigue for the war in Eastern Europe.
Slovakia has also been considered a useful asset to the Kremlin as it seeks to make a show of the West’s dwindling support for Ukraine.
Mr Fico was among Western leaders attending talks in Paris on Monday night to send Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve on Ukraine and counter the Kremlin’s narrative that Russia is bound to win a war now entering its third year.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, hosted the leaders of 17 EU countries, as well as ministers and officials from the UK, United States and Canada.
Source : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/02/26/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-latest-news5