Poland should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, says foreign minister

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in comments published on Tuesday, as Kyiv struggles to repel Russian advances, but Sikorski did not specify what role Polish troops would play.

While Ukraine's NATO allies have vowed to supply the war-torn nation with money and weapons for as long as it takes to repel a Russian invasion, they have generally ruled out the possibility of sending soldiers to the country.

Asked in an interview whether Poland was ready to send troops to Ukraine, Sikorski said: "We shouldn't rule it out. We should leave Putin guessing as to our intentions".

The interview was published in Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza, Italy's La Repubblica and Spain's El Pais.

French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door to sending troops to Ukraine and at a conference in Paris on Feb. 26, suggesting that one area Western troops could help with would be to train Ukrainians in Ukraine.

Sikorski himself has previously said that the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is "not unthinkable".

On Monday, Ukraine's top commander said he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres soon.

Russia has been gaining ground in Ukraine since the failure of Kyiv's 2023 counter-offensive to make any serious inroads against well dug-in Russian troops, with Kyiv's forces hampered by delays in supplies of weapons and ammunition.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Michael Perry)