Conservative backbencher Alicia Kearns tweeted on Thursday that the Government should consider cyber attacks on Russia if Mr Putin does not withdraw troops. The prime minister did confirm that 1,000 more troops would be put on alert in the UK if Russia were to invade although Downing Street is likely to follow the lead set by Nato. Russia has gradually built up a force of close to 190,000 troops around the Ukrainian border over the last few weeks but maintained that it had no intention to invade – until last night.
- That, though, is partly because Ukraine had already learnt from previous Russian cyberattacks over the past decade.
- He was not making a case for conscription or for an imminent call up of volunteers.
- Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticised Russia's "reckless" attack on Ukraine and said despite weeks of tireless international diplomacy, Russia had chosen "the path of aggression".
- "We do fear that this is the start of quite an extensive military operation. This is not just limited to the east. There have been military strikes across a number of parts of Ukraine," he told the BBC on Thursday morning.
- It is called self-determination, and perhaps the most important aspect of this principle is that borders cannot be changed by invading armies.
On Tuesday night President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 500 missiles and drones against Ukraine in just five days. Ukraine has long been calling for long-range missiles, but the US and other countries have been unwilling to supply them in case strikes inside Russia lead to escalation. It has sent military equipment, weapons as well as ammunition as well as anti-tank drones to Ukraine, however, Germany’s has refused to send “lethal weapons” to Ukraine. It comes as the UK has said that tougher sanctions against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine will mean “a much broader range of individuals and businesses can be sanctioned due to their significance to the Kremlin”. Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace said these troops would be used “first and foremost” to deal with any humanitarian crisis. “I put forward the UK’s point of view on the current situation as well as seeking to deter Russia from an invasion of Ukraine,” she said.
Putin's intent
Assuming both sides weren't annihilated by nuclear weapons, they assumed a Soviet invasion would lead to a war in western Europe, and trained and equipped UK forces would need to counter that threat. Last week, another senior Nato military chief said countries needed to be on alert "and expect the unexpected". Adm Rob Bauer, who heads the alliance's military committee, said the public needed to change their mindset for an era "when anything can happen at any time". It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. The Western defence official said that if Russia chose to carry out an attack now it could do so. But he said Russian forces massed on the border were still missing some crucial elements - such as full logistical support, ammunition stocks, field hospitals and blood banks.
Transcarpathia [Zakarpattia], everything that was and is part of the Romanian nation must return to its state borders,” he said. Nato must expect Russian missile strikes on European cities, a senior general has said. Ukraine has changed its strategy towards “active defence” in recent weeks after its much-vaunted summer counter-offensive failed to achieve major gains. In its latest defence intelligence briefing, the MoD said Russia has lost 2,600 tanks and 4,900 armoured vehicles in Ukraine so far. Prominent Russian Telegram channels Baza and 112 said a drone attacked the Slavenft-Yanos oil refinery in Yaroslavl at 7am local time (4am GMT). It also called for the arrest of journalist Dmitry Nizovtsev and Anna Biryukova, the ACF’s head of public opinion research.
Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine repelling three-pronged attack on Avdiivka, says UK – as it happened
Meanwhile, Moscow has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. Downing Street said the leaders agreed that if a further Russian incursion took place, "allies must enact swift retributive responses including an unprecedented package of sanctions". Russia has increased its missile attacks from Belgorod lately, especially on Kharkiv where it has killed and injured dozens of civilians. Transport planes like that one that crashed on Wednesday morning deliver the weapons that are then launched across the border.
- Seconds before impact, several objects fell from the Ilyushin, he said, citing video evidence.
- Joe Biden is pressing Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures with aid for Ukraine.
- Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, said the West had failed to alter the trajectory of the Russian invasion.
- However, Russian forces have suffered heavy personnel and armoured vehicle losses, frequently caused by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle munitions.
- If we took casualties at the rate the Ukrainians are taking them, the NHS would immediately be overwhelmed, and for years we’ve missed recruitment targets for the Armed Forces.
- But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions.
While analysts say a direct conflict between NATO and Russia is unlikely, it is possible - particularly in the Baltic states, or Finland. NATO and the Ministry of Defence will be studying the battlefields of Ukraine closely to work out what it would mean if British forces ever became involved in a fight with the Russians. Asked about the UK's accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin was plotting to install a pro-Moscow figure to lead Ukraine's government, Ms Truss declined to elaborate on the source of the intelligence.
After all, we do know the plane came down - and Ukraine has the capacity for that. Everyone we called for information told us, "not yet", or "we're checking information" or "just wait". They quoted the Defence Ministry in Moscow claiming that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war had been on board the flight, on their way to a prisoner exchange. There are shooting wars and there are information wars and countries that are fighting do battle on both fronts. President Biden's virtual meeting with President Putin earlier this week was a start and will be followed up by more talks with other Nato members. He said the security situation in Europe was without precedent since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
In 1994, the UK - along with the US - signed a memorandum at an international conference in Budapest promising "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine". They also promised to provide assistance to Ukraine if it "should become a victim of an act of aggression". But https://euronewstop.co.uk/world-war-iii-begins-with-forgetting.html lives on as a challenge to all policymakers thinking about whether to engage diplomatically - and even militarily - in a potential conflict between two foreign countries. An additional battlegroup of 850 troops has also begun deploying to Estonia over the past week, and 350 Royal Marines have been sent to Poland to reinforce the light cavalry squadron already stationed there. The UK therefore faces price rises on three fronts as a result of the invasion – oil, gas and food – at a time when inflation is already high and many are facing a cost-of-living crisis. The country is one of the world’s largest grain suppliers, meaning conflict is likely to cause supply problems, especially in Europe.
- If law and order really began to break down, security forces could be authorised to use lethal force against looters; neighbourhood vigilante groups might spring up.
- Ukraine has not seen attacks as heavy as this since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
- Russia has denied plans for military action, but an estimated 100,000 troops have amassed on the border.
- During the speech in London, the army chief said the UK needed to broadly follow Stockholm’s example and take “preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing”.
Those remaining have again been urged to leave Ukraine immediately - if they judge it is safe to do so. A source told BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley the meeting was "tempestuous" and ended early after Ms Truss said the ambassador should be "ashamed" of Russia's behaviour in Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin had lied repeatedly. "Because this act of wanton and reckless aggression is an attack not just on Ukraine, it's an attack on democracy and freedom in eastern Europe and around the world." In a pre-recorded TV statement, Mr Johnson stressed that Ukraine was "not some faraway country of which we know little". The UK "cannot and will not just look away" at Russia's "hideous and barbaric" attack on Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said.
The UK is providing additional military support to eastern Nato member states and will support Ukrainians in their defence of their homeland, he added. On Wednesday, the UK announced a package of sanctions against Russia as part of a co-ordinated Western response to the crisis. Mr Putin also urged Ukrainian soldiers in the combat zone in the east of the country to lay down their weapons and return to their homes, warning that Moscow's response would be "instant" if anyone tried to take on Russia. At least seven people are known to have been killed by Russian shelling, including civilians.
