NATO wouldn't invoke Article 5 over strike on French troops in Ukraine

 Should Russia strike a NATO country’s troops in Ukraine, this would not be grounds for invoking Article 5 of the NATO Charter, German parliament experts said, according to the DPA news agency.

"If military units from a NATO member state participate in collective self-defense in the conflict on Ukraine’s side based on Article 51 of the UN Charter and come under attack by the other party during military operations, this is not a justification to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter," the agency quoted an expert report, which assesses the possible consequences of France’s plans to send troops to Ukraine. The report has not been published yet.

According to the analysts, the bloc’s collective response would have been triggered had Russia attacked a NATO country or struck targets inside NATO territory. "In contrast, a military response from Russia against targets in France would have been 'an armed attack' under Article 5 of the NATO Charter, creating an actual situation where NATO members must assist each other," the report reads.

Meanwhile, the Bundestag experts believe that French ground troops entering the conflict on Ukraine’s side would be "acceptable under international law." However, in their view, a NATO nation’s move to send ground troops to Ukraine would not automatically turn the entire alliance into a party to the conflict, with only the country in question becoming one. "If a NATO member acts unilaterally, that is, not as part of a pre-agreed NATO operation and without the coordination of NATO’s military command, then neither the alliance in general nor other NATO partner states become a party to the conflict," the document emphasized.