Asked by Germany radio network Deutschlandfunk about yesterday’s proposal at the Paris war conference convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, to deploy European troops on the ground in Ukraine, former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (2002-2005) Gen. Harald Kujat (ret.) tied the matter to the inevitable military defeat of Ukraine. He answered: “Well, first of all, you have to say, this is a discussion that I have feared for months. The closer the military defeat of Ukraine is, the more the question arises, should NATO troops follow our weapons, Western weapons, into Ukraine or not?” Later he added: “I just want to say that Macron has played a very cautious, moderate role so far. I am amazed that he took this step.”
Kujat, who was also former Bundeswehr chief of general staff (2000-2002), stated: “We know, I know at least from three countries, that this option is discussed seriously. The Russians know that too, by the way. And in my opinion, they have been making operational preparations for this case for several weeks.” Countries that put troops into Ukraine “also have to be clear ... that when it comes to combat actions with their forces in Ukraine, that this is not the case of NATO….”
