French President Emmanuel Macron said that one of the reasons for sending troops to Ukraine could be Kyiv’s request after Russians breached Ukrainian defenses.

The French President stated this in an interview with The Economist.

“As I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out,” Macron said when asked if he still adheres to his position on the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine.

At the same time, Macron emphasized that he would not fully disclose his plans, as this could weaken the security of France itself.

The French President emphasized that he has a strategic goal to prevent Russia from winning.

“France is a country that has carried out military interventions, including in recent times. We deployed several thousand troops in the Sahel to fight terrorism that could pose a threat to us. We did so at the request of sovereign states. If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request — which is not the case today— we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question [about sending troops],” the French President said.

At the end of February, Militarnyi reported that Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending a French military contingent to Ukraine.

He noted that there are currently no specific plans to deploy troops but stressed that such a possibility should be part of a policy of strategic ambiguity to show Russia that Western countries are ready to take decisive action.

Later, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal confirmed the words of French President Emmanuel Macron about deploying troops to Ukraine and explained the potential purpose of such actions.

He explained that supporting Ukraine is very important because if the country falls, the European Union and France, in particular, will be in a dangerous position.

Attal noted that the possible deployment of troops would not be aimed at participating in combat operations at the front but at rear support.

He also clarified that if French troops were deployed to Ukraine, they would train the military, provide air defense, and protect some parts of the border.