Emmanuel Macron’s gaffe will mean Ukraine must wait longer for vital weapons

‘Boots on ground’ blunder is a propaganda coup for Russia and dashes Kyiv’s hopes of obtaining crucial Taurus long-range missiles

Emmanuel Macron’s latest masterstroke appears to have brought the West ever closer to the prospect of nuclear war with Russia.
His suggestion this week that Nato troops could be deployed to Ukraine presented Vladimir Putin with an open goal.
The Russian despot didn’t miss. The French president’s suggestions would bring about nuclear armageddon, Putin warned in his state of the nation address on Thursday. 
Mr Macron might as well have written the script of Putin’s speech for him. His big idea was a clumsy bid to grab a leadership role for France, and to a lesser extent the European Union, in the fight for Ukraine.
But its consequences go further than simply handing Putin a propaganda coup to shore up his nationalist base.
The French president’s intervention laid bare divisions in Nato, which has always insisted there would never be boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general, was forced to issue a denial that any such plans existed, as Downing Street also rejected the idea.
As Europe’s leaders either rejected Mr Macron or rallied behind him, the West’s united front against Putin looked anything but.
That matters when war fatigue is biting and US support for Ukraine hangs in the balance of the presidential elections, and is held hostage by Republicans in Congress.
Mr Macron has a decidedly patchy record when it comes to Putin-whispering. But it’s important for French presidents to still be seen as global players for domestic political reasons.
The centrist former investment banker hoped to reinvigorate and shore up European support for Kyiv as he hosted a summit in Paris. He was also keen to prove that the EU can step up to be a geopolitical force in its own backyard when Washington goes AWOL.
Instead, he widened the division between him and his most important ally Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, which is Europe’s leading donor to Ukraine.
Working together, the EU’s two most influential leaders would be valuable allies for Volodymyr Zelensky. But they are at odds and were even before Mr Macron’s hamfisted intervention made things worse.
Mr Scholz, who is unhappy at France’s comparatively small weapons donations, was unequivocal. There would be no Nato or EU soldiers on Ukrainian soil, he said.
The chancellor’s mood won’t have been helped by Mr Macron trying to pressure him into supplying Kyiv with Taurus missiles.
Taurus are the best long-range missiles Nato has to offer, but would give Ukraine the ability to hit Moscow. Mr Scholz has ruled that out for fear of the war escalating into a bigger conflict between Russia and Nato.
The chancellor refused to send Ukraine Leopard tanks for the same reason before ultimately sending them.
The Leopard tanks were only sent when Washington promised Kyiv battle tanks as well. Mr Scholz may not agree to send the missiles unless he gets a similar US commitment.
But Putin’s fresh warnings of nuclear war make a similar U-turn more difficult to sell in Germany.
President Zelensky now faces a longer wait for the vital weapons at a time when Ukraine is losing the land war against Russia.
Meanwhile, Putin can sow further disquiet and confusion among the West by threatening nuclear war.
It’s a result that even Mr Macron might be forced to admit is suboptimal at best.