By Adam Morrow
Individual NATO members could send troops to Ukraine if the alliance fails to provide Kyiv with security guarantees at an upcoming summit in Vilnius, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Rasmussen said this week.
“If NATO cannot agree on a clear path forward for Ukraine, there is a clear possibility that some countries individually might take action,” Rasmussen told British newspaper The Guardian on June 7.
Poland, in particular, he said, “is very engaged in providing concrete assistance to Ukraine.”
“I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that Poland would engage even stronger in this context … and be followed by the Baltic States, maybe including the possibility of troops on the ground,” he added.
Poland, which shares a 330-mile-long border with Ukraine, is among Kyiv’s most ardent supporters.
Last year, Warsaw provided Kyiv with 250 combat tanks. Earlier this year, it was the first country to pledge German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
In March, Poland became the first NATO member to contribute fighter jets—in the form of four MiG-29s—to Ukraine. The following month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Warsaw, where Polish President Andrzej Duda reiterated his country’s support for Kyiv.
The Baltic states mentioned by Rasmussen–NATO members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania–are also all staunch supporters of Ukraine.
Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, served as NATO secretary-general from 2009 to 2014. He currently acts as an adviser to Zelenskyy on issues pertaining to Kyiv’s long-term security.
Potential Turning Point
If carried out, Rasmussen’s suggestion would be a turning point in terms of steadily escalating Western support for Ukraine.
Since Russia launched its invasion early last year, the West—with the United States at the lead—has provided Kyiv with increasingly sophisticated arms and equipment.
This has included HIMARS rocket launchers, advanced combat drones, Western-made battle tanks, and U.S. Patriot air-defense systems. Last month, several allies of Kyiv signaled their readiness to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.
But until now, Western capitals—fearing wider conflict with Russia—have shied away from the notion of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine.
On Feb. 24 of last year—the day Moscow initially launched its invasion—Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s current secretary-general, said the alliance had no plans to deploy troops.
“There are no NATO combat troops, no NATO troops at all inside Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
“We have made it clear that we don’t have any plans and intention of deploying NATO troops to Ukraine,” he added.
Russia upped the ante last September, annexing four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine after holding controversial referendums.
Zelenskyy responded by formally requesting Ukraine’s immediate accession to NATO as a full-fledged member.
Since then, Kyiv has continued to lobby NATO members in hopes of securing a firm pledge that Ukraine would soon be let into the Western military alliance.
Summit in Vilnius
At a June 1 meeting of European leaders in Moldova, Zelenskyy reiterated his call for Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Barring full membership, he urged the alliance to grant Kyiv security guarantees as the conflict entered its 15th month.
Zelenskyy also voiced hope that his country would be invited to join the alliance at an upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital.
Speaking in Moldova, the leaders of France and Germany both appeared to voice support for the notion of security guarantees.
“It is imperative that the Vilnius summit gives these immediate guarantees [to Ukraine],” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, said Kyiv should receive such guarantees in order to provide it with “the security it needs against the danger of being attacked.”
According to Stoltenberg, the sought-for security guarantees will be on the agenda of the Vilnius summit, which is slated for July 11 and 12.
But he has also suggested that such guarantees could only be given to full-fledged alliance members in line with Article 5 of NATO’s founding charter.
Article 5 commits NATO member states to come to the aid of fellow members in the event they are subject to an armed attack.
Rasmussen, in his recent remarks, said if Kyiv “doesn’t get anything in Vilnius,” Warsaw might forge “a coalition of the willing” for the deployment of troops to Ukraine.
It would be entirely legal for Ukraine to seek such military assistance, he added, according to The Guardian.
In a June 8 post on Telegram, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, responded to the former NATO chief’s remarks.
Rasmussen, he wrote, “said that if Ukraine doesn’t receive an invitation to join NATO in Vilnius, countries of the alliance would be able to send troops there … on their own.”
“Have the people of these countries been asked? Who among them wants war with Russia?” Medvedev asked.
He added, “Do they really want hypersonic strikes on Europe?”
Reuters contributed to this report.
