Several NATO members are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine if Russia makes a breakthrough from its latest push in the east of the country, according to reports.
German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that MPs in Baltic states are furious with Berlin’s policy towards the Ukraine war following the Lennart Meri Conference on foreign and security policy.
Germany refused to provide the Ukrainian army with long-range weapons and would not give the green light for them to strike Russian territory with Western weapons.
The report states: “They argue that if the Russians manage to make a strategic breakthrough in eastern Ukraine because the West is only half-heartedly helping Kyiv, the situation could escalate dramatically.
“In that case, the Baltic states and Poland would not wait for Russian troops to deploy on their borders, Baltic politicians warned, but would send troops to Ukraine themselves.
“And it was clear what this would mean – NATO would become a party to the war.”
It comes after Russia said on Saturday it had captured another village in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
Russia‘s Defence Ministry said that troops had “taken control of the village of Arkhanhelske,” located to the north of the city of Donetsk.
The small frontline village is near the town of Ocheretyne, which Russia said it had captured early this month.
Russia‘s latest claim of territorial gain came as Ukraine has said Moscow is intensifying attacks away from the Kharkiv region, where it launched an offensive on May 10.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to voice the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
But Macron’s idea was supported only by the Baltic states and Poland, while the rest of NATO countries, including Germany, criticized the French leader’s statement.
Recently, The New York Times reported that NATO was discussing the possibility of sending military instructors to Ukraine to train soldiers. Currently, NATO troops are training Ukrainian soldiers on foreign soil.