Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans also drew on his personal experience of a recent visit to Ukraine.

He insisted that “if you want to make sure that Ukraine gets a better position at negotiation table, it’s important to support them at the battlefield,” as he called for more support for Kyiv.

He particularly stressed the importance of providing Ukraine with further measures to protect itself from air strikes, which are “more intense than ever.”

Asked about US’s Hegseth only joining through a video call, he played it down, saying “what we have seen so far is that the support of the United States that has been promised is now delivered, and I think that is very important.”

He also succinctly described what is the need for the US to be involved in any potential future reassurance force:

You can have different types of missions with a different risk profile.

And in general, I could say … the higher the risk of consultation, the more important it is that the United States is closely involved. If there is a lower risk profile, then it’s relatively less important.