Zelenskyy welcomes Macron's idea to send troops to Ukraine, but for non-combat tasks

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy views "very positively" the initiative of French leader Emmanuel Macron to send troops to Ukraine for training, demining, and repairing equipment, he said during a conversation with the media, a LIGA.net journalist reports.

"Training in Ukraine is logical – we've already talked about it. It's faster than going, for example, to France, even to Poland," Zelenskyy explained.

In addition, there can be cooperation on demining, and it is also possible to create a hub for repairing, in particular, French equipment in Ukraine, so as not to send it to France, the president noted.

In general, the head of state views these ideas "very positively" as they could "encourage" other countries.

"That is, it opens a new page in this war," he concluded.

On February 26, following the meeting of European leaders in Paris, Emmanuel Macron said that he does not rule out the possibility of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine. Later, he explained that his words should give Europe a new impetus to accelerate aid to Ukraine.

On May 2, Macron repeated the message that he does not oppose the introduction of French troops, specifying that he would take such a step if Russia broke through the Ukrainian defenses and Kyiv asked for help.

On May 14, the Minister of Defense of Estonia stated that the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine has not gained any traction either at the level of the country or at the level of the EU.