Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire

Poland has no plans to send troops to neighbouring Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, amid speculation that Western powers could put boots on the ground there if a ceasefire is reached with Russia.

Tusk was speaking after talks in Warsaw with French President Emmanuel Macron, part of diplomatic efforts by European powers to demonstrate to US President-elect Donald Trump that they are keen to assume their share of the burden to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine.

Trump has made clear he will push for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the conflict.

"To cut off speculation about the potential presence of this or that country in Ukraine after reaching a ceasefire... decisions concerning Poland will be made in Warsaw and only in Warsaw," Tusk said. "For now, we do not plan such actions."

Macron said it was up to Ukraine to decide what concessions it wanted to make for the sake of peace but also stressed the importance of Europeans taking responsibility for the security of the whole continent, something thrown into sharp focus by the impending return of Trump to the White House.

Trump has long accused Washington's European allies of not spending enough on defence and relying too much on the US.

"There is no security in Europe without the Europeans," said Macron, standing alongside Tusk.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not present at the talks in Warsaw, but said on Thursday in Berlin that he was in constant contact with Tusk and Macron.

A German government source said talk of ground troops as part of security guarantees for Ukraine was "a bit like doing the fifth step before the second".