British Army sends message of reassurance as Lancashire residents reveal fears over Ukrainian conflict

As tensions escalate in Eastern Europe over territory claims between Ukraine and Russia, several Lancashire residents have expressed fears over the impact of Putin's military aggression. But top British Army leaders say they do not intend to send the Duke of Lancaster regiment or any other land troops across the country to fight in the conflict.

Despite these reassurances, several Lancashire residents feel that the West should come down harder on Putin to help ease tensions. Bamber Bridge man Dave Bibby would like to see more diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis, saying: "There is no reason for [Putin] to go into Ukraine at all. He needs stopping, simple as that. The West need to do more stringent sanctions. I just feel sorry for the people of Ukraine."

Robert Beardsworth is concerned that the fallout will leading to increased fuel prices, escalating the living crisis that is already plunging many British people into poverty, adding: "Fuel, food, gas electric, everything is going up apart from wages."

Robert however believes Britain should toughen up on Russia and show their military teeth if further sanctions prove to be fruitless: "I think Putin's trying his luck more than anything. He thinks the West is very soft, which I do as well. I think they need to try the sanctions first and then maybe threaten military [action]."

Ormskirk man Dominic Byrne, 43, is also worried about the impact on fuel costs but believes that diplomatic means would be the better solution. He said: "I think it will affect us in terms of gas prices. With the increase in costs we've already had, that's a bit of a concern. I think there's probably more sanctions they can place on Russia. In terms of more the West can do, I wouldn't really want to enter another war like Afghanistan or something like that."

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