One thousand British troops are being put on standby in case of a humanitarian crisis in eastern Europe if the current Russian military build-up leads to war, Downing Street has announced.
Boris Johnson flies to Poland on Thursday in a further show of support for a key Nato ally amid continuing fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is in Moscow for talks with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov as Western powers continue to urge President Vladimir Putin to draw back from conflict.
