The U.S. will not be sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the White House said Tuesday, following remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who considered sending Western forces to help Kyiv amid the war with Russia.
President Joe Biden "has been clear that the U.S. will not send troops to fight in Ukraine," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, asked whether the United States could send troops for other purposes such as training, said the Biden administration opposed any deployment to Ukraine.
"We're not sending boots on the ground in Ukraine. The president's been very clear," Miller told reporters.
Both the White House and State Department said the priority was for Congress to approve new military aid to Ukraine.
"Fundamentally, we think that the path to victory for Ukraine right now is in the United States House of Representatives," Miller said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of former president Donald Trump and head of a razor-thin Republican majority, has refused to allow a vote on Biden's request for about $60 billion for Ukraine.
