More than half of people in Lithuania are against any deployment of Lithuanian forces to Ukraine, according to a new Vilmorus poll conducted for BNS following French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent suggestions that deployment of Western troops to Ukraine cannot be ruled out, Ednews reports via briefly.com.

Almost 56 percent of respondents said they were against the deployment of troops, about 15 percent backed the idea, but only if the allies did so too, and a similar share supported the deployment of troops but only for training missions. Only 3.5 percent supported the participation of Lithuanian forces in military action in Ukraine.

Speaking about Western support for Ukraine, Macron said in late February he would not rule out the possibility of sending allied troops to Ukraine in the future.

His statements were later criticised by some Western partners. At the time, Lithuanian officials said they were considering sending troops to Ukraine to train Ukrainians, but support in the form of arms and ammunition remained the main priority for the time being,

Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas told BNS that the poll results should not influence the decision to send troops to Ukraine, adding that the initiative is “entangled in myths”.