France has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine in the near future.

According to Ria Novosti, in an interview with the Czech news portal Novinky and the newspaper Pravo before his visit to Prague, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine in the near future, but is considering possible options to support the country.

"I said that nothing should be ruled out. This does not mean that we are considering the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine in the near future. But we are open to discussion and thinking about everything we can do to support Kyiv, first and foremost on Ukrainian territory," President Macron said.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet also affirmed that there would be no deployment of troops to the "post-Soviet republic." Speaking on France Inter radio on March 1, he stressed, "the French will not sacrifice themselves for Ukraine."

However, on the same day, Le Monde, citing sources, reported that Paris was considering allowing special forces and other military units to cross the Ukrainian border in order to create a "strategic dilemma" for Russia.

Le Monde explains that the presence of French troops could "protect certain territories and limit an attack from Russia."

Following a meeting of about 20 European leaders in Paris on February 26, President Macron surprised his Western allies by declaring that the parties had "open, frank discussions" and "did not rule out the possibility of the West sending troops to Ukraine."

The idea of ​​sending troops to Ukraine was taboo, especially as NATO sought to avoid being drawn into a wider conflict with Russia, a nuclear-armed nation.