BB.lv: There will be no Western troops in Ukraine

Among other questions, he was asked whether NATO would intervene if the war spreads to the territory of alliance member countries such as Poland or the Baltic states. Cameron assured that NATO would certainly intervene in these circumstances, in accordance with the collective defense commitment enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

However, Cameron ruled out “boots on the ground”—sending troops to Ukrainian territory. “We don’t want to give Putin such a target,” he added.

He also said that it is possible to use NATO architecture to help Ukraine, this is not an escalation and does not mean direct participation in the war. And direct presence in Ukraine, in his opinion, means.

“I think there is no escalation in saying that we will help this sovereign, independent country defend itself from the aggressor and for this we will provide all the assistance that we can,” the minister said.

Discussions about the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine in recent months have arisen in the context of two incidents.

First, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the end of February, and then repeated several times, that this possibility cannot be ruled out, even if it is purely hypothetical for now. Many of France’s allies, including the United States, Great Britain and Germany, immediately stated that they categorically did not consider such a possibility.

Then a few days later, in early March, Russian propaganda released a recording of a wiretapped conversation between high-ranking Bundeswehr officers, in which they casually mention that a number of British and French troops are already in Ukraine and are helping the Ukrainians master the supplied weapons – the Germans said that for their country it would be impossible.