France proposed sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine to aid Kiev's military with critical jobs, according to an article by former US envoy to NATO, Ivo Daalder. 

Daalder wrote in Politico that the idea came some weeks ago from the French Chief of Staff General Thierry Burkhard, who reached out to half of his NATO colleagues, asking them to "explore the possibility" of sending "a coalition of the willing" to Ukraine's frontlines.

Burkhard suggested the personnel might man ground-based defense systems, train troops, undertake cyber operations, and assist with demining. His proposition was quickly rejected by "every ally," Daalder stated, in accordance with NATO's longtime stance of "no troops on the ground in Ukraine."

Daalder's suggestion was well before French President Emmanuel Macron stirred controversy last week by telling the media that sending NATO troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out.

Macron declared on Monday the formation of a new coalition aimed at providing Ukraine with extended-range missiles and ammunition and emphasized that the possibility of deploying Western ground forces to engage in combat in Ukraine should not be dismissed.

Other NATO members, notably the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Germany, responded quickly, stating that they had no such intentions. French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne sought to clarify Macron's remarks, telling public station Radio France Inter last Friday that Paris would not risk endangering its citizens or a direct clash between Russia and NATO.

In his piece, Daalder dubbed Macron's remarks on troop deployment "another headline-grabbing statement" and an effort at gaining geopolitical points, but said the fact that they came after Burkhard's proposal "may have revealed more serious thinking" regarding efforts to assist Ukraine within the alliance.

Regarding Macron's comments, the UN has urged against the use of provocative language concerning the war in Ukraine, the official representative of the organization's Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said during a briefing in response to an inquiry about Macron's remarks.

Lavrov says does not think Macron 'misspoke' on forces in Ukraine

During his participation in the third Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, attended by representatives from 147 nations, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, expressed that military personnel from the US, UK, and France are currently stationed in Ukraine, dispelling the notion that only mercenaries from these nations are present.

"Before the coup d’etat [in Ukraine], hundreds of US citizens occupied seats in ministries, just as they now allegedly have their own mercenaries, but in fact, there are military officers there — there are UK and French (officers)," Lavrov adding that "We are well aware of this."

Moreover, Lavrov added that Ukraine already hosts NATO forces. He clarified that French President Emmanuel Macron's mention of the potential deployment of NATO troops to Kiev was not a mistake.

"I don’t think he misspoke," Lavrov said referencing Macron's statement before adding "The very fact that they want to deploy troops has been expressed explicitly, but unofficially, they (NATO) are already there."

The Russian Foreign Minister then underscored that "Ukraine would not be able to use these so-called long-ranged weapons against Russian cities without these instructors," reaffirming, "We all understand this perfectly well."