Macron says putting Western troops on ground in Ukraine cannot be ruled out

French president Emmanuel Macron has told European leaders that sending Western troops into Ukraine cannot be ruled out.

Mr Macron was speaking at a gathering of 20 European leaders in Paris to display collective “conviction” backing Ukraine against the Russian invasion that is now in its third year.

“There is no consensus at this stage to send troops on the ground. Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win,” Mr Macron told reporters on Monday.

At least 20 European leaders, including from the UK, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Portugal and Belgium, met at the Elysee presidential palace for discussions on how to ramp up ammunition supplies to Ukraine.

“Let us have the humility to note that we have often been six to 12 months late. This was the objective of this evening’s discussion: everything is possible if it is useful to achieve our objective,” Mr Macron said, adding that Europe should not depend on the United States to fight in Ukraine

He added: “Many people who say ‘Never, never’ today were the same people who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago.”