EU leaders wary after Macron doesn't rule out Western troops in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday faced uneasy reactions from European allies and a warning from the Kremlin after he refused to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Macron said after a conference of European leaders on Monday that "everything that is necessary" must be done to ensure the defeat of Russia, including deploying troops.

The Kremlin warned of the "inevitability" of confrontation between NATO and Russia if troops from the alliance were deployed in the conflict, which would break a major taboo the West has so far been reluctant to challenge.