NATO countries scramble to deny ground troops will go into Ukraine after Moscow warns of 'inevitable' conflict

France's suggestion that Ukraine's allies could potentially send ground troops into Ukraine has caused indignation and outrage in Russia, with officials warning it could provoke a direct conflict between Russia and NATO member states.

Eyebrows were raised Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that European heads of state and Western officials, who met in Paris on Monday, had talked about the possibility of sending ground troops into Ukraine.

"There is no consensus today to officially, openly, and with endorsement, send troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing should be ruled out. We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war," Macron said at a news conference Monday evening.

Moscow was quick to seize on the comments, with the Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, telling reporters Tuesday that if European NATO members sent troops to fight in Ukraine it would make a conflict between Russia and NATO inevitable.

"In this case, we need to talk not about probability, but about inevitability, and that's how we evaluate it," he said, news agency Tass reported, when asked about the likelihood of a direct conflict between Russia and the Western military alliance if its troops crossed the border.

Peskov added that NATO countries "must also evaluate" the consequences of such actions and "ask the question whether this corresponds to their interests, and most importantly, to the interests of the citizens of their countries."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also weighed in, advising any countries considering sending troops to Ukraine to "use their heads," news agency Tass added.

"It seems to me that those who not only express such thoughts, but even admit them in their