"If a European force was to be deployed to Ukraine it might well be subject to low-level provocative attacks, designed to test their willingness to remain deployed in the country..."

I find the "Expainer" premise difficult: its more "Confuser".

Take the above: A "European Force" coudn't be deployed without Russian agreement in the first place. Without that there won't be "low-level provocative attacks" because they would obviously be targeted for annihilation as enemy combatants. So how are they going to even get deployed?

There's this weird presumption the they will just go in because they want to and that Russia will, just, well, let them.

-Why on earth do they think that they can just walk into Ukraine with impunity?
I think it not just the BBC in La-la land here: this seems to reflect where the Euro-Brit leadership Borg mindset is at...and its simply not rational.