Germany, Britain and other European countries said on Tuesday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and Nato.

French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage. “Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win,” Macron told reporters at a hastily convened gathering of European leaders in Paris to mull how to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

Macron’s comments come amid battlefield gains by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces in eastern Ukraine and growing shortages of ammunition and manpower on the Ukrainian side.

However, Germany, Britain, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic distanced themselves on Tuesday from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the Ukraine war.

“...There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or Nato states,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. German defence minister Boris Pistorius was equally adamant. “Boots on the ground is not an option for...Germany,” he said during a visit to Vienna. “I’m glad if France is considering how to support Ukraine more strongly, but if I can make a suggestion, then send more weapons,” German economy minister Robert Habeck said.