BEIJING, March 22. /TASS/. Western politicians' discussions about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine are caused by their concern over the Russian army's successes in the special operation zone, a Chinese expert told the APD news outlet.

"The main reasons (for such discussions - TASS) are as follows: first, the Ukrainian army is being defeated time and again, while Russia is winning one victory after another on the battlefield, which is absolutely unacceptable for the West, which is trying its best to prevent its victory," Cheng Xizhong, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law and former assistant defense attache at the Chinese embassies in India and Pakistan, said.

According to the expert, other reasons for the possible deployment of the NATO contingent in Ukraine include the need to train Ukrainian servicemen to operate the NATO equipment supplied to them. In addition, the effective use of modern Western-made long-range precision weapons for strikes against Russia requires the direct involvement of foreign specialists, he explained.

NATO member states have so far sent their servicemen to Ukraine in secret, but in the current situation the West may decide to openly deploy its contingent in this country, the expert opined.

On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that during a meeting in Paris where representatives of around 20 Western states discussed further support for Kiev in the conflict with Moscow, the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine was raised. According to the French leader, participants did not reach a consensus on this issue, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out in the future. He later clarified his statement, explaining that "not ruling something out does not mean doing it." After the conference, representatives of most participating countries stated that they do not plan to send troops to Ukraine and are against their involvement in combat actions against Russia.

On March 19, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said that France was already preparing a military contingent to be sent to Ukraine, which would initially amount to about 2,000 soldiers. At the same time, according to him, French servicemen are already unofficially present in Ukraine, and some of them are already dead or injured.