{"id":3766,"date":"2026-08-03T19:40:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/08\/03\/kievs-backers-facing-big-problem-after-macron-exit-telegraph\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:40:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:40:36","slug":"kievs-backers-facing-big-problem-after-macron-exit-telegraph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=3766","title":{"rendered":"Kiev\u2019s backers facing \u2018big problem\u2019 after Macron exit \u2013 Telegraph"},"content":{"rendered":"

The French president could be replaced by Ukraine skeptics next year, potentially throwing NATO efforts to support Kiev into disarray, the paper\u2019s sources say<\/strong><\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s departure from the Elysee Palace next year could open the door to Ukraine skeptics and create a \u201cbig problem\u201d<\/em> for the NATO coalition backing Kiev, The Telegraph reported on Sunday, citing sources.<\/p>\n

Fears about what the British paper described as a \u201cleadership vacuum\u201d<\/em> revolve mainly around the so-called \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d<\/em> \u2013 a grouping of roughly 30, mostly NATO, states that has spent over a year drawing up plans to put troops in Ukraine as self-styled \u201cpeacekeepers\u201d<\/em> once a ceasefire is reached. Among the goals of the group \u2013 which is dominated by the UK and France \u2013 is also to coordinate aid to Kiev.<\/p>\n

Russia has rejected any unauthorized foreign military presence in Ukraine, suggesting that Western troops would not be \u201cpeacekeepers\u201d<\/em> but rather \u201coccupation forces\u201d<\/em> and therefore legitimate targets.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"European
What is the \u2018coalition of the willing\u2019 \u2013 and why it\u2019s falling apart<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Telegraph noted that while new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham signaled continuity in backing Kiev and NATO, there is no equivalent figure in Paris, with Macron constitutionally required to leave his post after next year\u2019s presidential election. This, the paper added, has sparked concerns about a \u201cslow death\u201d<\/em> for the coalition.<\/p>\n

Two potential replacements are Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing National Rally, and left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon. Both are hardline Ukraine and NATO skeptics. Le Pen has vowed to pull France out of the bloc\u2019s military command, lift sanctions on Russia, and push Kiev toward a peace deal, while Melenchon has pledged an outright French withdrawal from NATO.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Kiev\u2019s backers reneging on military personnel pledges \u2013 Sunday Times<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A Western official told The Telegraph that NATO would face \u201ca big problem\u201d<\/em> if either of the candidates wins the election. Another Telegraph source claimed that British officials are already examining what either outcome could mean for Anglo-French relations, including the sharing of classified intelligence.<\/p>\n

The vacuum fear is reportedly exacerbated by the situation elsewhere in Europe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is mired in domestic turmoil, with Berlin refusing to send troops to Ukraine even to police a future truce. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also questioned the bloc\u2019s cohesion and is facing a re-election battle next year.<\/p>\n

Even without leadership woes, the coalition has been reeling under policy splits. Italy and Poland have ruled out sending their own troops to Ukraine, while Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Canada have signaled they will contribute to security guarantees only through training, funding, or logistics rather than combat deployments. <\/p>\n

Among the other problems is the lack of military personnel, with multiple media reports warning that NATO members would struggle to amass a \u201cpeacekeeper\u201d<\/em> force even under an ideal geopolitical landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The French president could be replaced by Ukraine skeptics next year, potentially throwing NATO efforts…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}