Kremlin warns of 'inevitable' war between Russia and NATO if European members send troops to Ukraine after French President Macron warned the West has not 'ruled' out putting boots on the ground

The Kremlin warned today that conflict between Russia and NATO would be inevitable if European members sent troops to fight in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that European nations have not ruled out putting boots on the ground.

He said that nothing should be excluded as the West looked for a strategy to counter Russia, which controls just under a fifth of territory recognised as Ukraine.

'We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win,' Macron added.

'The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries is a very important new element,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when questioned about Macron's remarks.

Asked about the risks if NATO members sent their troops to fight in Ukraine, Peskov said: 'In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability (of a direct conflict).'

The war in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has previously warned of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia

Ukrainian servicemen of the 68th Separate Jager Infantry Brigade 'Oleksa Dovbush' fire a howitzer towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on Monday

Peskov said that the West should ask themselves if such a scenario was in the interests of their countries and their peoples.

The war in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has previously warned of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.

Even talk of a confrontation between Russia and NATO - a Cold War nightmare of leaders and populations alike - indicates the dangers of escalation as the West grapples with a resurgent Russia 32 years after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz today rejected the idea of European countries and NATO sending troops to Ukraine after Macron said the idea could not be ruled out.

'What was agreed from the beginning among ourselves and with each other also applies to the future, namely that there will be no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European states or NATO states,' Scholz said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said today: 'The UK already has a small number of personnel in country supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, including for medical training.

'We've got no plans to make a large-scale deployment,' he said, adding: 'The UK is also training large numbers of Ukrainian personnel here in the UK. We're obviously supporting Ukrainian troops as well through provision of equipment, supplies.'

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, accused by critics of being too cosy with Moscow, said after the meeting that there was disunity on the issue among European leaders.

'There are countries that are ready to send their own soldiers to Ukraine, there are countries that say never - Slovakia is among them - and there are countries that say that this proposal should be considered,' he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden, which is set to join NATO, poured cold water on the idea, saying 'it's not on the cards at all for the moment'.

Italy said international support for Ukraine does not include the presence of ground troops, warning against giving the impression of being 'at war with Russia'.

'Since the start of Russia's aggression two years ago, all the allies have been unified over the support to offer Kyiv,' the government said in a statement.

'This support does not envisage the presence on Ukrainian territory of troops from European or NATO states.'

Macron said that nothing should be excluded as the West looked for a strategy to counter Russia, which controls just under a fifth of territory recognised as Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers in their fighting position in the direction of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal reaffirmed Macron's comments today, saying: 'You can't rule anything out in a war'.

He added: 'I recall that two years ago many around this table said we will offer sleeping bags and helmets and now they say we need to do more and quicker to have missiles and tanks.'

Russia and the United States - the big power behind NATO - have the world's largest arsenals of nuclear weapons. President Joe Biden has cautioned that a conflict between Russia and NATO could trigger World War Three.

After the Russian invasion in 2022, Western leaders said they would help Ukraine defeat Russian troops on the battlefield and drive out Russian troops. But that has not happened.

Ukraine's counteroffensive in 2023 failed to pierce heavily dug in Russian lines and Russia has been pushing further into Ukrainian territory just as US support for Ukraine is tangled in domestic political debates.

A White House official told Reuters that the United States had no plans to send troops to fight in Ukraine, neither were there plans to send NATO troops to fight in Ukraine.

Putin casts the United States and its allies as a crumbling empire that wants to destroy Russia and steal its natural resources. The West portrays Putin as a dictator and a killer, and Russia under his rule as an enemy.

The United States has denied Russian claims that it wants to destroy Russia, but Biden earlier this month called Putin a 'crazy SOB' and US sources have said that Russia is planning to put a nuclear weapon in space.