Finland announced that the topic of sending military personnel to Ukraine was off course.

The discussion about sending military personnel to Ukraine has veered off course. This was announced by Finnish President Alexander Stubb on April 5.

"This topic has turned into a symbolic discussion that has completely deviated from the course. <...> Currently, the ground forces are not on our agenda," he said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper.

He stressed that there are many other ways to support Ukraine. The Finnish president specified that European troops would number from 20 to 60 thousand troops. According to him, such a number "would not make much difference."

Stubb added that initially it is necessary to reach a truce, then come to a peaceful settlement and only after that talk about peacekeepers. At the same time, he noted that the greatest responsibility lies with the Ukrainian side, including their army, and Washington should also provide security guarantees to Kiev.

The Finnish leader called Ukraine's automatic membership in NATO the only way to achieve a "long-term and just peace" in the event of a renewed conflict.

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French politician Florian Philippot reported on April 2 that a statement by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about a planned meeting with representatives of some states indicates the promotion of the idea of sending troops to the country.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on March 27 that Moscow was categorically against the deployment of so-called Western peacekeepers in Ukraine, as it risked a direct clash between Russia and NATO.