Discussion of sending NATO troops into Ukraine itself has suddenly broken into the open for the first time, prompting Russia to warn that “a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia will be inevitable” if Western troops became engaged.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a denial that the alliance was planning to send troops to fight in Ukraine on Tuesday morning, following 24 hours of public discussion among member states on the move, which also triggered a dark threat from Moscow about their response to any such deployment.
The discussion came around an emergency meeting on Ukraine called by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, who appears the most publicly supportive of a NATO deployment directly against Russia. President Macron said yesterday that sending Western soldiers to Ukraine “could not be ruled out” and that “we must do whatever…
