EU denies NATO troops openly fighting in Ukraine

Western countries will not send their troops to fight Russia on behalf of Ukraine, Vice Admiral Herve Blejean, head of the European Union Military Staff (EUMS), said on June 14.

“The EU and NATO are united in condemning Russia’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to self-defense,” Blejean said at a meeting of EU and NATO military officials earlier this year to discuss support for Ukraine.

“Sending ground troops to Ukraine is to engage in a war, to wage war with Russia, and no one wants that, not the EU or NATO,” Blejean told French television channel LCI on June 14. “We are not fighting Russia. We are supporting Ukraine.”

Speaking about Ukraine's ongoing counter-offensive, Mr. Blejean said that this would “not be the end of the conflict, whatever its outcome.”

The French vice admiral's latest comments come after former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen suggested that individual members, such as Poland and the Baltic states, could eventually decide to deploy troops to Ukraine.

However, later, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba announced that there would be no foreign troops on the ground in Ukraine “before the armed conflict with Russia ends”.

In fact, volunteers from many NATO countries have been fighting on Kiev's side.

Meanwhile, Moscow has long asserted that by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine and sharing intelligence, NATO countries have turned themselves into direct participants in the conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that NATO is waging a war against his country, and that it would be “ridiculous” to claim otherwise.

Last month, the EU agreed to buy 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) worth of artillery shells and missiles for Ukraine. The US has pledged more than $100 billion in aid to Kiev since Russia launched its military campaign in the neighboring country in February 2022 .

Minh Duc (According to RT, EEAS)

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