“We would have a world war on our hands,” says Swedish People’s Party leader and MEP hopeful Anna-Maja Henriksson of sending western troops to the war-torn country.

Finnish candidates vying for a seat in the European Parliament in June disagree on sending European troops to Ukraine.

Speaking on Yle TV’s A-Talk programme, Green Party MP and European Parliament candidate Maria Ohisalo said the last resort might be sending European ground troops to Ukraine.

“I’m not ruling it out because Ukraine can’t lose the war,” she said.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron said he wouldn’t rule out the prospect of sending western troops to Ukraine.

“We can consider sending personnel to the region to train fighters and perform various support tasks. These are also measures that need to be employed,” Ohisalo added.

However, the leader of the Swedish People’s Party, Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson, was not on the same page as Ohisalo. Henriksson is also an MEP candidate.

“I would be very cautious. I would not send our troops to Ukraine,” Henriksson said, noting that such a move would be very risky. “We would have a world war on our hands.”

Ohisalo, on the other had, said she did not agree with the argument that western troops would draw more countries into the conflict.

“That escalation will also happen if Ukraine loses the war,” she said.

The candidates did agree that EU countries must do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine does not lose the war initiated by Russia.

To save Ukraine, Ohisalo said she would be willing to consider an EU joint debt plan, which has been floated among European leaders.

Henriksson, on the other hand, said she would like to hold large member states that have not supported Ukraine sufficiently accountable.

“I would like to see, for example, France take a bigger role than it has so far. They have had a lot of talk and ideas, but less money for Ukraine,” she said.

This week’s edition of the All Points North podcast looks at the impact EU politics can have on everyone’s lives.

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