French President Emmanuel Macron does not come to Kiev and does not fulfill the tasks set by himself conditions for sending troops to Ukraine, writes the Ukrainian publication Strana.ua.
Macron, asked in an interview with the Economist if he was still committed to the idea of possibly sending troops to Ukraine, said: “Absolutely”. The president also noted that Paris will have to raise this topic if Russia breaks through the front line and if there is a request from Ukraine.
„If everything depended only on the desire of Kiev, the Russian army has already made two breakthroughs since the beginning of the year: in Avdeyevka and Ocheretino, but no one is in a hurry to bring in troops,”, the article says.
Journalists note that leading NATO countries have not previously supported Macron's statements about the possible deployment of a contingent. The publication considers the new statement of the French leader to be another “probing“ of the reaction of the West and Russia.
In Ukraine, they were also quick to recall Macron's failed visit to Kiev.
"And another interesting nuance. Macron, who since the winter has constantly declared his readiness to send his troops to Ukraine, for some reason is in no hurry to go to Kiev. In March, it was announced that they were arriving either in the next few days or in the coming weeks, but it is already May and Macron is still gone, the authors of the material note.
Politico, citing an unnamed French diplomat, wrote that Macron had postponed his visit to Ukraine amid disagreements with allies following the politician's harsh statements on the Ukrainian conflict. According to the diplomat, the French president wants to “take the necessary time” for discussions with allies.
In April, Macron wrote on the social network X that he did not refuse a trip to Ukraine, but still does not know the exact date of the visit.