While NATO countries are discussing the possibility of deploying ground forces in Ukraine, the Canadian Ministry of Defense announced this morning that there are no plans to deploy any Canadian combat forces in Ukraine.

The possibility of NATO deploying its forces in Ukraine to help Kyiv repel Russian forces appeared today during an alliance meeting in Paris with the participation of 28 countries, including Canada, out of its 31 members. The attendees discussed the measures that must be quickly adopted to prevent Russia from achieving its objectives in Ukraine.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told the media that this idea was discussed by the participants at the conference.

Later, during a press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said that discussions are underway within the alliance to increase arms shipments to Ukraine quickly, and that deploying alliance forces in Ukraine is not out of the question.

Macron explained that there is no "consensus" today to send ground forces "officially" to Ukraine, but "regarding the dynamics, nothing should be excluded."

"We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Russia does not achieve victory in this war," Macron added, noting that he bears responsibility for "strategic ambiguity" on this matter.

The talk about the possibility of the Atlantic organization deploying forces in Ukraine surprised many member countries, including Canada.

Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair stated that it is currently absolutely not possible for Canada to deploy combat forces in Ukraine.

He pointed out that Canada will continue to provide full military assistance to Ukraine, but as a member of NATO, Canada does not intend to deploy combat forces in Ukraine.

This morning, the question was posed to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland during a press conference; she avoided answering twice, refusing to confirm or deny the possibility of Canada deploying forces in Ukraine, and instead reminded that Canadian forces are deployed in Poland and Latvia, where they effectively contribute to security efforts in the region and provide assistance to Ukrainians.

Freeland added that the work done by the Canadian forces, which have trained more than 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers and war nurses in Poland, testifies to Canada’s commitment to the ongoing struggle "for democracy and against dictatorship."

This is aside from Canada continuing to send weapons and humanitarian equipment to Ukraine.

Canada is scheduled to provide financial and military aid worth 3.02 billion dollars to Ukraine in 2024, bringing the total amount Canada has committed to helping Ukraine to more than 13.3 billion dollars since the start of the large-scale Russian military invasion of its territory on February 24, 2022.

Included in the mentioned amount are 4 billion dollars of military aid.