Macron raised the issue of sending Western troops to Ukraine, saying that Europe would “do everything possible to prevent Russia from conquering”.

(CNN) — French President Emmanuel Macron has openly discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to help Kiev win a war against Russia, a move toward the largest ground war seen in Europe since World War II. There is potentially huge growth.

At a news conference after hosting a summit to discuss Ukraine on Monday, Macron told reporters that although he and 21 other European leaders had not agreed on the deployment of military personnel, they had openly discussed the possibility. Went.

“Nothing should be ruled out,” he said. “We will do everything possible to prevent Russia from winning this war.”

As part of that effort, Macron announced that a new alliance would be formed to supply medium- and long-range missiles to Ukraine.

“We are at a critical moment in this conflict that requires us to take the initiative,” Macron said.

With Republicans in Congress blocking $60 billion in US funds for Ukraine, the burden of helping arm Ukraine has shifted to Europe as it seeks to prevent a Russian military resurgence.

Ukrainian soldiers deployed on the front lines say they are already running out of ammunition, which is costing them dearly on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN in a recent interview that “millions” of people could die if Washington does not provide more aid to his country.

The EU has pledged more than $150 billion in aid to Ukraine, but sending troops would be a drastic step, unthinkable when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion two years ago.

But Macron said Western democracies have gradually increased their support to levels unimaginable when the war began. He highlighted the example of Germany, which offered helmets and sleeping bags to Kiev at the beginning of the conflict and now says the country needs to do more to supply missiles and tanks.

“The people who say ‘never’ today are the same people who said never airplanes, never long-range missiles, never trucks. He said all this two years ago,” he said. “We have to be humble and realize that we are always six to eight months late.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that such a deployment to Ukraine would put the West in conflict with Moscow.

“In this case, we should talk not about the possibility, but about the inevitability of conflict,” Peskov said. “These countries should also evaluate this and be aware of it, asking themselves whether this is in the interests of their country’s citizens.”

Kremlin officials have already made similar comments. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last year that the United States, the United Kingdom and several others are “waging war” against Russia and engaging in hostilities against the country, providing aid to Ukraine.