Emmanuel Macron talks tough, but the West is still not backing words with actions in Ukraine
Until the West can meet its robust rhetoric with meaningful military support, Russia will be able to carry on claiming it is beginning to prevail in the war, writes Sky's Dominic Waghorn.
Tuesday 27 February 2024 16:17, UK
As the war in Ukraine starts to shift in Moscow's favour, Western leaders need to project unity and resolve.
When they met in Paris, Emmanuel Macron said there is "no consensus at this stage to send troops on the ground".
He added, however: "Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win."
At the conference of 20 European leaders, their task was to send a clear message to Vladimir Putin on the second anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine.
It's in that light that the French president's comments should be seen - and not as part of an inexorable slide towards World War Three.
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On the face of it, the mere mention of Western troops going to fight in Ukraine is a major development - even if Mr Macron did provide heavy qualification by saying there is "no consensus".
NATO, as an alliance, has not supported Ukraine in a military sense, sending non-lethal aid instead.
But individual nations are providing arms and munitions in huge amounts - if not yet enough to enable the Ukrainians to expel their unwanted invaders.
Now, the French leader says Western soldiers might have to be sent in, too.
His remarks followed similar comments from Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, who said some in the West are considering bilateral deals with Ukraine to put their own boots on the ground.
The reaction from the Kremlin has been swift and predictable. In such an eventuality, war between NATO and Russia would be "inevitable", a spokesman said.
Sending Western troops to fight in Ukraine has been taboo because of the possibility it could lead to full-on war between NATO and Russia - and all that could ensue between two heavily armed nuclear entities.
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Russia's 'diplomatic offensive'
In war, words carry weight and have impact.
Russia has engaged in a diplomatic offensive in recent weeks to conjure the sense that the conflict in Ukraine is inevitably moving in its favour.
Its message to Ukraine is that resistance is foolish - as the Kremlin's man in London recently told Sky News's Yalda Hakim.
Ukraine's supporters and Russia's enemies need to push back against that narrative. They must insist the Western alliance is not weak and about to crumble against the inexorable force of Russian might.
So, expect a concerted effort by Western leaders, claiming they are in it to the bitter end.
The difficulty for the West is the continuing disconnect between rhetoric and action.
Ukraine has just been forced to concede ground in the town of Avdiivka and is under pressure in a number of other points on the front line.
The reason? Lack of ammunition, and, behind that, America's failure to send billions of dollars more in aid, held up by Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Until the West can meet its robust rhetoric with meaningful military support, Russia will be able to carry on claiming it is beginning to prevail in the war - whatever the fighting talk of people like Emmanuel Macron.