Britain’s Role in Ukraine Force?

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Transcript

00:00Tobias, let's talk about the UK, which of course has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers up until now.

00:05What role do you see Britain playing if this reassurance force ever materialises?

00:10I think that's a really good question. And the knee-jerk answer is, oh, boots on the ground.

00:15It is more complicated than that. Britain has a history going back over the last couple of centuries

00:20of stepping forward when European security is in peril, going back to Napoleonic times.

00:26And we did it again in the last two wars. We're not the same power as we were before, no doubt about it.

00:33But the fact that we are willing to step forward and encouraging others to do so,

00:38I think is very symbolic about our concerns of wider European security, our commitment to Ukraine,

00:45but also to stand up to Russia as well. I would stress that this boots on the ground is shorthand.

00:52And journalists like it. It is more complicated than that. It would probably start off with a no-fly zone,

00:57because that's the easiest way. You need to control the skies above before you even think about putting troops on the ground.

01:03But it raises that bigger question about long-term security.

01:06If you can't provide Ukraine with any form of long-term security,

01:10then the clear European position is, all that we'll see is Russia step back, rearm, regroup,

01:17and probably do this again in a couple of years' time. And that's, again, another message that we want Washington to understand.