Crimea calls possible sending of EU troops to Ukraine suicide

Sending European Union (EU) troops to Ukraine would be suicidal, such a decision is unlikely to be taken by Europe. This was stated by the head of the Crimean Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov on February 23.

"I allow such a suicidal decision of European Russophobes, but I consider it unlikely. The EU does not have any troops, and the states that are members of this organization have extremely modest armed forces," Konstantinov told RIA Novosti.

He pointed out that this association is used to feeling protected under the American "security umbrella," but this time the US warned the Europeans that sending troops to Ukraine is the EU's own operation. It will not be covered by Article 5 of the NATO charter.

Why Europe doesn't want an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Parsing

Earlier, on February 21, Bulgaria's parliament limited the possibility of its troops participating in the Ukrainian conflict. The decision was made after a two-hour debate during which MPs concluded that combat operations in Ukraine were not part of allied NATO commitments.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on February 20 that Paris is not now considering sending its military contingent to take part in the Ukrainian conflict. However, France does not rule out sending peacekeepers to the country after the end of the conflict.

Before that, on February 18, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that the German military would not be sent to Ukraine during the "hot phase" of the crisis. Lithuanian presidential foreign policy adviser Asta Skaisgiritė said that Vilnius would like to help Kiev with its instructors, but now Lithuania is not talking about sending military contingents. The politician said that European countries needed to think about the safety of their soldiers.