Some NATO countries have already sent their military to Ukraine, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said during a panel discussion at an event dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the country's accession to the alliance that was broadcasted on the Sejm RP YouTube channel.
“NATO soldiers are already in Ukraine,” Sikorsky said.
Sikorsky added that he is not going to disclose which states sent their military there, “unlike some politicians.”
Earlier, the diplomat Sikorski said that the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine "was not unthinkable," adding that he appreciated Macron's initiative on the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda, in turn, expressed his opinion that Warsaw needs to build a large airport to transport NATO troops.
At the end of February, Macron said that France would do everything to prevent Russia “from winning this war.” According to him, the leaders of Western countries have discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and, although no consensus had been reached in this regard, nothing could be ruled out.
Later, the French president, who was sharply criticized for his statements, noted that all his words were carefully considered. He also emphasized that Paris “has no limits or red lines” on the issue of assistance to Kiev.
At the same time, the authorities of many European countries stated that there is no talk of transferring military personnel to Ukraine. In particular, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized that Germany would not send its military personnel to the republic. In addition, the head of the German government clarified that NATO countries as a whole are not going to do this.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto likewise said that France and Poland have no right to speak on behalf of NATO, and the alliance's intervention in the conflict would "erase the path to diplomacy."
Commenting on Sikorski's revelation, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that the alliance's members could "no longer hide it".
In his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly in late February, President Vladimir Putin warned that the consequences of a possible NATO intervention in Ukraine would be tragic for the alliance's deployed troops.