Nobody wants to send troops to Ukraine – Germany — RT World News

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday that discussions about the deployment of NATO forces on the ground in Ukraine must end, because no one actually wants that to happen.

Pistorius was in Finland to visit German forces participating in NATO's Northern Response exercise in the Arctic Circle. While there, he held a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart, Antti Hakkanen.

“No one really wants to have boots on the ground in Ukraine.” Pistorius said in response to a question about the French President's recent statements Emmanuel Macron Which suggests that the issue was open.

Discussions about it “You should stop,” he added.

“No one now supports having boots on the ground.” Agreed.

Macron said last week that no option, including ground forces, should be ruled out because Russia cannot be allowed to win. However, only two Baltic states supported this idea, while most other NATO members publicly condemned it.

Pistorius said what the West should do instead is step up deliveries of ammunition and equipment to the Ukrainian military.

“Germany is the second largest supporter of Ukraine in the world.” Pistorius pointed to a donation of 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) this year alone, adding that Berlin had sent… “Air defense, artillery, ammunition, what[ever] “Ukraine needs.”

In response to questions about Germany's decision not to send long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Pistorius said that would be an exaggerated step.

“We always stress that long-range missiles will not decide this war.” He told reporters, adding that Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “There is one critical line that we will never cross, and that is being a participant, being a party to the war.”

Last week, RT posted Audio Recording Transcript of a conversation between senior Luftwaffe officers in mid-February, in which they discussed the use of Taurus missiles to destroy the Crimean Bridge. The generals assumed the missiles would be delivered and tried to come up with ways to help Ukraine use them while maintaining plausible deniability.

Russia has repeatedly warned the United States and its allies that handing over weapons to Ukraine will not prevent Moscow from achieving the goals of its military operation, and will only prolong the fighting and increase the risk of direct confrontation with NATO.