NATO troops are already in Ukraine for arms control

9 months ago
23

NATO troops are already in Ukraine for arms control, intelligence operations, and training, according to El Pais.
The agency has interviewed many military sources from Ukraine and the EU over more than two years of war, and they all agree that no NATO army has taken part in ground combat. But they also agree that they have informants on the ground who provide information about the situation on the frontline, determine the effectiveness of the weapons being supplied and possible problems in their use, and identify possible cases of corruption in the delivery of aid.
Some of these unofficial informants are retired foreign military personnel who volunteer to fight in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At least two sources, one American and one Ukrainian claim that Washington is particularly active in monitoring their assistance, organizing missions between its embassy and the Ukrainian authorities, as well as visiting them outside official channels.
The alliance’s military is not directly involved in combat operations in Ukraine, the paper asserted. It also mentioned Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski who told a conference in Warsaw that "NATO soldiers are already present in Ukraine" but, as compared to other politicians, he would not specify the countries that they had come from.
The Polish foreign minister’s statement, as the paper said, could be seen as criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who said in late February that British and French forces were present in Ukraine.
Retired foreign servicemen fighting on Ukraine’s side allegedly on a voluntary basis are among unofficial informants. Besides, two sources told the paper that Washington was controlling its aid especially actively.
French President Emmanuel Macron said after a Paris meeting on February 26 that representatives of about 20 Western states had discussed further support to Kiev in the conflict with Moscow and raised the issue of potentially sending troops to Ukraine. He said that the participants in the discussion had reached no consensus on this issue but this scenario could not be ruled out in the future. Later, Macron explained that "not ruling something out does not mean doing it."
As Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed, Russia is aware of the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine where they are perishing in large numbers.

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