Macron's militant rhetoric explained by lost trust in Putin after being 'deceived', says Zelenskyy

French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up his rhetoric on Russia because of the realization that Vladimir Putin has deceived him, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the BMF TV channel.

Macron no longer trusts Putin, Zelenskyy noted.

French soldiers will not die in Ukraine, but technical personnel can be admitted to maintain and repair Western equipment, so as not to send it to Europe.

"The fact that he said that we cannot 'rule out' anything, I think, is primarily related to Putin: as long as Ukraine holds the line, the French army can remain on French territory," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader stressed that if Russia attacks a NATO country, "the situation will be completely different."

At a meeting on support for Ukraine, which was called by Macron on February 26, European leaders discussed the possibility of sending NATO ground troops to Ukraine. 

At a meeting with parliamentary parties, the French leader said that sending troops to Ukraine is possible in the event of a possible Russian breakthrough to Kyiv or Odesa.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that he "does not want the generation to grow up in a world of threats", commenting on Macron's statement about the possible deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine in the future.

On March 5, Macron made it clear that his statement about the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine was "the opening of the debate."

Czech President Petr Pavel also said that the West should not "close the possibilities of supporting Ukraine" and called for the expansion of forms of assistance, in particular, a possible military presence in Ukraine.