Close of day summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments of the day:
- Vladimir Putin has insisted that “of course” he does not want a war amid conflicting claims he had withdrawn some his country’s forces from Ukraine’s borders. Speaking at a news conference following talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin suggested there was the opportunity for further talks between Moscow and the west.
- Putin said Russia had been told that Ukraine would not join Nato in the near future, but that Moscow did not think that was a good enough assurance and wanted to resolve the matter in its entirety now.
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Russia’s defence ministry has announced it is to withdraw some of its troops from the border with Ukraine in a possible de-escalation of the threat of a potential invasion. The size of the withdrawal remains unclear and may involve only a fraction of Russia’s forces at the Ukrainian border, which western officials estimate at more than 60% of the country’s ground forces.
- Boris Johnson said there were signs of a “diplomatic opening” to resolve the Ukraine crisis, but that there were “mixed signals” from Russia. He added that the “intelligence that we are seeing today is still not encouraging”, with Russian field hospitals being built close to Belarus’ border with Ukraine.
- Bob Seely, a Tory member of the commons foreign affairs committee, said reports of Russian troop withdrawals should not be seen as “the end of the story”. He said in a series of tweets that Moscow still had “many troops around Ukraine” and could “redeploy more at short notice”.
- A Russian invasion of Ukraine could pose a threat to Europe’s wider stability that emboldens aggressors around the world, Liz Truss said on Tuesday. The foreign secretary cited Iran and China as examples of potential aggressors who could be emboldened to expand their ambitions by seeing Russia attack Ukraine.
- Boris Johnson is expected to deny wrongdoing to the police by arguing his presence at Downing Street gatherings in lockdown was part of the working day, though No 10 said his official response to the Metropolitan police would remain private. The prime minister has until Friday to answer a questionnaire sent by the Met which may lead the force to issue a fixed penalty notice (FPN) or conclude there was no case to answer.
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The prime minister has insisted that “of course” he can lead the Tories in the next general election, despite ongoing questions over his leadership linked to lockdown parties in Downing Street.
- The total number of deaths involving Covid in the UK reached 183,502 in early February, figures published this morning show. The Office for National Statistics recorded 1,242 registrations where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate in England and Wales in the week to 4 February, or one in 10 deaths.
- A former Conservative minister, once at the heart of efforts to clamp down on money laundering in London, has revealed that during Theresa May’s premiership, No 10 “leant on him” when he tabled amendments to introduce a public register of overseas property owners.
Thanks so much for joining me today and for all your tweets, emails and comments below the line. Sorry I couldn’t reply to everyone. We’re closing this blog but I’ll be back again tomorrow and we have some other live blogs which are still live.
Our dedicated blog on the Ukraine crisis is here:
If interested, we also have a live blog on the news Prince Andrew has settled sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre here:
Updated
Vladimir Putin said Russia had been told that Ukraine would not join Nato in the near future, but that Moscow did not think that was a good enough assurance and wanted to resolve the matter in its entirety now.
Russia is campaigning for security guarantees from the west including a veto on Ukraine ever joining the US-European military alliance.
The Kremlin leader made the remark at a joint news conference after talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow, Reuters reports.
Updated
Vladimir Putin says 'of course we don't want war'
Vladimir Putin has insisted that “of course” he does not want a war amid conflicting claims he had withdrawn some his country’s forces from Ukraine’s borders.
Speaking at a news conference following talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin suggested there was the opportunity for further talks between Moscow and the West.
He said:
Of course we don’t want it [war].
This is exactly why we put forward the proposal to start the negotiation process where the result should be an agreement of ensuring equal security of everyone, including our country.
Unfortunately there was no constructive response to this proposal.
Nevertheless we come from a position that even in the documents that were forwarded to us from Nato and Washington there are elements that can be discussed.
But these need to be discussed comprehensively with all basic issues that we have highlighted today.
Updated
Melinda Simmons, the British ambassador to Ukraine, has been winning plaudits for her decision to stay in post in Kyiv, working with a much-reduced staff to help UK citizens out of the country and to manage the steady flow of British dignitaries still flying to the country to show their solidarity.
Given the clarity, frequency and urgency of the British intelligence warnings of an imminent Russian invasion, including the possibility of airstrikes, it is surprising that she has until now insisted she remain in situ alongside a core team.
Her decision to stay put, along with most EU embassies, will be popular with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He is deeply unhappy that some western embassies – including the US, Canada and Australia – decided to move from Kyiv to Lviv or other cities in the west of the country. At a joint briefing on Monday Zelinskiy said he was determined to prevent an exodus of his political and business class, and questioned their logic. “There is no western Ukraine,” he said. “There is Ukraine; it is integral. Because if, God forbid, something happens, it will be everywhere.”
Simmons’s decision to stay may also be an implicit admission that the Foreign Office did not cover itself in glory in its handling of the fall of Kabul.
It might be thought that the Conservative press would treat her decision to stay put as a sign of the sangfroid on which the British diplomatic class like to pride themselves. But Douglas Murray, associate editor of the Spectator, took umbrage at her admissions that she sometimes needed to take walks to relieve herself of stress.
When exactly did Simmons-like behaviour become our national character? When did me-time and self-esteem replace stoicism? People used to talk of drawing on reserves in a crisis, not least because it gave confidence to our friends and allies as well as to ourselves. Clearly that isn’t the case now.
Those that know her say she is the most businesslike and focused of the new breed of female ambassadors, and has absolutely thrown herself into the job.
Read the full story here:
Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key developments of the day:
-
Russia’s defence ministry has announced it is to withdraw some of its troops from the border with Ukraine in a possible de-escalation of the threat of a potential invasion. The size of the withdrawal remains unclear and may involve only a fraction of Russia’s forces at the Ukrainian border, which western officials estimate at more than 60% of the country’s ground forces.
- Boris Johnson said there were signs of a “diplomatic opening” to resolve the Ukraine crisis, but that there were “mixed signals” from Russia. He added that the “intelligence that we are seeing today is still not encouraging”, with Russian field hospitals being built close to Belarus’ border with Ukraine.
- Bob Seely, a Tory member of the commons foreign affairs committee, said reports of Russian troop withdrawals should not be seen as “the end of the story”. He said in a series of tweets that Moscow still had “many troops around Ukraine” and could “redeploy more at short notice”.
- A Russian invasion of Ukraine could pose a threat to Europe’s wider stability that emboldens aggressors around the world, Liz Truss said on Tuesday. The foreign secretary cited Iran and China as examples of potential aggressors who could be emboldened to expand their ambitions by seeing Russia attack Ukraine.
- Boris Johnson is expected to deny wrongdoing to the police by arguing his presence at Downing Street gatherings in lockdown was part of the working day, though No 10 said his official response to the Metropolitan police would remain private. The prime minister has until Friday to answer a questionnaire sent by the Met which may lead the force to issue a fixed-penalty notice (FPN) or conclude there was no case to answer.
-
The prime minister has insisted that “of course” he can lead the Tories in the next general election, despite ongoing questions over his leadership linked to lockdown parties in Downing Street.
- The total number of deaths involving Covid in the UK reached 183,502 in early February, figures published this morning show. The Office for National Statistics recorded 1,242 registrations where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate in England and Wales in the week to 4 February, or one in 10 deaths.
- A former Conservative minister, once at the heart of efforts to clamp down on money laundering in London, has revealed that during Theresa May’s premiership, No 10 “leant on him” when he tabled amendments to introduce a public register of overseas property owners.
Updated
A spokesperson for Matt Hancock is claiming victory in relation to the high court ruling that found he did not comply with a public sector equality duty when he appointed the Conservative peer Dido Harding as head of a new public health quango.
While the race and equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust successfully won its claim against the government over the appointment in August 2020 of Harding as interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, as well as the appointment in September 2020 of Mike Coupe as director of testing at NHS test and trace, judges dismissed the claim by the Good Law Project, which had joined the trust in making complaints.
Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Swift, however, did conclude that Hancock had not complied with “the public sector equality duty” in relation to the appointments of Harding and Coupe.
The spokesperson Hancock said:
We’re delighted the department has won yet another court case against the discredited Good Law Project. Claims of ‘apparent bias’ and ‘indirect discrimination’ have been quashed and thrown out by the high court.
What the judgment does make clear is that ‘the claim brought by Good Law Project fails in its entirety’, therefore highlighting the fact this group continues to waste the court’s time.
The court judgment also states that ‘the evidence provides no support ... at all’ for the allegation that Dido Harding secured senior positions on the basis of ‘personal or political connections’ in the government.
They accept these ‘were urgent recruitment processes which needed to find highly specialised, experienced and available candidates within a short space of time’.
Let’s not forget, we were dealing with an unprecedented global pandemic, where time was of the essence in order to protect and save lives.
Read more on that story from my colleague Jamie Grierson here:
Updated
Keir Starmer has said it is “not entirely clear what’s happening on the border” of Ukraine and Russia.
He said it was important for allies to stand together, adding:
Whatever other arguments and quarrels we might have with the prime minister, when it comes up to standing for the sovereignty of Ukraine and standing up to Russian aggression, we stand as one United Kingdom.
"It's not entirely clear what's happening on the border" of Ukraine and Russia, says Sir Keir Starmer, "anything that de-escalates this is welcome"
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 15, 2022
The Labour leader says he wants to see a "clear and united plan to stand up to the Russian aggression"https://t.co/BLwK4Xi3C7 pic.twitter.com/rOmc72jef3
Updated
Boris Johnson warns threat of Russian invasion of Ukraine remains but hopes for ‘diplomatic opening’
Following a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, Boris Johnson said:
Last night going into today, clearly there are signs of a diplomatic opening.
He added that the “intelligence that we are seeing today is still not encouraging”, with Russian field hospitals being built close to Belarus’ border with Ukraine.
That could only be “construed as preparation for an invasion”, the prime minister said.
Despite Russian claims about troop withdrawals, Johnson said intelligence suggested “you have got more battalion tactical groups being brought closer to the border”.
“So, mixed signals, I think, at the moment,” he added.
Updated
Boris Johnson said there were signs of a “diplomatic opening” to resolve the Ukraine crisis, but that the intelligence was not encouraging and there were “mixed signals” from Russia.
Boris Johnson after Cobra meeting: "Clearly there are signs of a diplomatic opening" but "the intelligence we are seeing today is still not encouraging". Points to field hospitals being built in Belarus which "can only be construed as preparation for an invasion".
— Hugo Gye (@HugoGye) February 15, 2022
Updated
A former Conservative minister, once at the heart of efforts to clamp down on money laundering in London, has revealed that during Theresa May’s premiership, No 10 “leant on him” when he tabled amendments to introduce a public register of overseas property owners.
Lord Faulks said he had first tried to put the register into the criminal finances bill in 2017 and then again into a government bill on money laundering in 2018. He had described the overseas ownership of dirty money in London as an obscenity.
Faulks, a distinguished barrister and now an independent peer, told the Guardian he was rung by Downing Street during May’s tenure and told to go to a meeting where he met civil servants from four government departments including the Foreign Office, business officials and the Home Office. They told him to drop the amendments – for which he had a voting majority in the Lords – because they assured him Whitehall had the issue in hand.
He told the Guardian:
I was obviously misled because nothing has subsequently happened. I can only think a deluded desire to protect the City of London has led to all these delays.
It is a real irony that our reputation for protecting the rule of law is one of the things that attracts people who have very little regard for the rule of law themselves and come from countries which ignore it almost altogether.
Quite frankly, I was leant on. I was leant on by No 10 Downing Street and summoned to a meeting of officials from all sorts of different departments, who told me it was very unfortunate that I was going to do this because the matter was in hand.
Read more here:
The total number of deaths involving Covid in the UK reached 183,502 in early February, figures published this morning show.
The Office for National Statistics recorded 1,242 registrations where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate in England and Wales in the week to 4 February, or one-in-ten deaths.
This was another decrease in the weekly number of Covid deaths, falling from 1,385 deaths or 11.2% of all deaths registered in the previous week. Two thirds of the deaths recorded in the latest seven-day-period had Coivd listed as the underlying cause of death, rather than a contributory cause, down from 71.2% the previouse week.
Overall the number of deaths occurring have remained below the five-year-average for six weeks now having been higher than normal for close to six months.
There was a slight increase in the number of deaths among care home residents in England and Wales in the last week covered by the data. A total of 341 care home residents died with Covid in the week to 4 February, rising from 333 a week earlier.
The figure recorded by the ONS is different to the government’s official count of 159,605 because the latter only records those deaths that are known to have occurred within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test while the ONS counts all deaths where the virus was mentioned on the death certificate.
In a statement, the Runnymede Trust said the high court judgment that Matt Hancock did not comply with the law when appointing Dido Harding and Mike Coupe to posts during the pandemic was a “step in the right direction for equality and levelling up”.
The charity said it was moved to join this Judicial Review at the peak of the pandemic when disabled, Black and minority ethnic citizens were dying disproportionately from Covid.
The statement continues:
It seemed logical and indeed imperative that those appointed to help lead the nation out of the pandemic were the best candidates for the job or, at a bare minimum, extensively experienced and fully qualified in the area of public health. Neither Baroness Harding nor Mr Coupe is medically trained. Neither has a lifetime of public administration under their belt.
It should not be acceptable to drop our standards during complex health emergencies when countless lives are at stake, in particular the lives of some of our country’s most vulnerable citizens. This is when the rule of law most needs to be upheld. This is why the rule of law exists.
The charity said that with the correct application of equalities law, government has the potential to exercise “a positive and transformative effect in its mission to level up society”.
It added that the judgement sends a strong message to government that “it needs to take its obligations to reduce inequality far more seriously”.
BREAKING: High Court finds PM #BorisJohnson & former Health Secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully in appointing #DidoHarding & Mike Coupe. A hugely significant judgment for #disabled and ethnic minority communities. Proud of our teams for their work. https://t.co/eXC4Ss7UCF
— Dr Halima Begum (@Halima_Begum) February 15, 2022
Meanwhile Jo Maugham, director of the Good Law Project, said:
Change doesn’t happen, things don’t get better for those who are disadvantaged, unless those in power care.
That means making sure they ask themselves: ‘How do I level society up for the disabled and ethnic minorities?’ And it means taking the time to find the best people – not the best-connected people – for the job.
Breaking: the High Court has ruled 🚨 pic.twitter.com/hu0GFSsIiT
— Good Law Project (@GoodLawProject) February 15, 2022
Updated
An independent thinktank has won a high court fight over government appointments made during the pandemic.
Two judges have ruled that then health secretary, Matt Hancock, did not comply with a public sector equality duty when appointing Conservative peer Dido Harding and Mike Coupe, a former colleague of Baroness Harding, to posts in 2020, PA news reports.
Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Swift granted a declaration to the Runnymede Trust on Tuesday after considering arguments at a High Court hearing in December.
Campaign group the Good Law Project joined the trust in making complaints – arguing that the government had not adopted an “open” process when making appointments to posts “critical to the pandemic response” – but their claim was dismissed.
Judges concluded that Hancock had not complied with “the public sector equality duty” in relation to the decisions to appoint Lady Harding as interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection in August 2020 and Coupe as director of testing for NHS Test and Trace in September 2020.
Lawyers representing the two organisations suggested that people “outside the tight circle” in which senior Conservative politicians and their friends moved were not being given opportunities. They said an unfair policy was being challenged.
Ministers disputed the claims made against them.
Jason Coppel QC, who led the two organisations’ legal teams, told Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Swift that the challenge was based on equality legislation and public law.
He said the government had a “policy or practice” of “making appointments to posts critical to the pandemic response” without adopting any, or any sufficient, “fair or open competitive processes”.
Coppel said people “less likely to be known or connected to decision-makers” were put at a disadvantage.
He also said the government was failing to offer “remuneration for high-level full-time roles” and “excluding all candidates who were not already wealthy” or held other posts for which they would continue to be paid.
Updated
Boris Johnson has insisted that “of course” he can lead the Tories in the next general election, despite ongoing questions over his leadership linked to lockdown parties in Downing Street.
The prime minister has been sent a legal questionnaire from Scotland Yard officers to complete, as they investigate whether he broke his own Covid laws.
Revelations about events in Downing Street during coronavirus lockdowns have resulted in Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, calling for the prime minister to quit, claiming his position is no longer tenable.
But Johnson, who did not meet with the Scottish Conservative leader on a trip north of the border on Monday, insisted Ross was doing a “very good job”, PA news reports.
He insisted they could both still be in post as party leaders at the next general election – despite Ross’s demands for him to go.
Asked whether he believed they will both lead the Conservatives into the next general election, Johnson said: “Of course.”
His comments came as he again made clear his view that Scottish independence is “just not going to happen”.
The prime minister told the Daily Mail newspaper that over the course of the Covid pandemic, “Scotland and the whole of the UK has benefited massively from the might of the UK exchequer”, highlighting the impact of schemes such as furlough.
He declared:
I think most people could see that it would be an economic disaster to split up our country. That is why it is just not going to happen.
Speaking about the Scottish Tory leader, he insisted that Ross “has done a very good job indeed of leading the Scottish Conservatives”.
In the 2021 Holyrood elections he said that Ross won “about 100,000 more votes than any previous Scottish Conservative leader” and had also “stopped the Scottish National party from getting the outright majority that they thought they could get”.
Johnson added:
Every day Douglas gets up and campaigns for the union of our country in a way that is absolutely passionate and I totally share.
All I would say is there is far, far more that brings us together than separates us.
Updated
Bob Seely, a Tory member of the commons foreign affairs committee, said reports of Russian troop withdrawals should not be seen as “the end of the story”.
He said in a series of tweets that Moscow still had “many troops around Ukraine” and could “redeploy more at short notice”.
Vladimir Putin had “already taken victories from the crisis”, including having more troops stationed in Belarus, he said.
He added: “We need a long-term and coherent plan and a strategy to deal with a dangerous world.”
I’d be wary of taking this as anything near the end of the story. 1. Russia still has many troops around Ukraine. 2. It can redeploy more at short notice. 3. It has already taken victories from the crisis (more troops stationed in Belarus, etc). #Russia #Ukraine 1/3 https://t.co/TYaIzeDJ7a
— Bob Seely MP (@IoWBobSeely) February 15, 2022
In the next decade, Russia will continue to try to: collapse Ukraine, shatter the unity of NATO & EU, demand a sphere of influence, & thru years of war propaganda, build the image of the West as the enemy, not ally, of #Russia. 2/3
— Bob Seely MP (@IoWBobSeely) February 15, 2022
We need a long-term and coherent plan and a strategy to deal with a dangerous world. Our states need to understand how neo-authoritarian states use the full spectrum of state power; military, economic, energy, espionage, political, etc. We are not there yet. 3/3
— Bob Seely MP (@IoWBobSeely) February 15, 2022
Conor Murphy has said a draft three-year budget for Northern Ireland that prioritised action on the region’s spiralling health waiting lists cannot be introduced due to the powersharing crisis.
The finance minister had sought legal advice from the attorney general on whether he could bring the draft budget for 2022 to 2025 to the assembly despite ministers having not signed off on it, PA news reports.
The spending plan had been out for public consultation when the DUP withdrew first minister Paul Givan from the administration as part of its protest against Brexit’s Northern Ireland protocol.
Murphy told MLAs on Tuesday:
Since the resignation of the first minister I have considered all possible avenues that might have allowed me to proceed with a budget, including bringing it directly to the assembly.
Unfortunately, the legal advice is clear that the budget must be agreed by the executive.
This means that on 1 April the health service will not be able to plan on a three-year basis, nor will it be equipped with additional resources to invest in waiting lists, cancer services and mental health. In these circumstances, rather than improving, the health service will decline.
Updated
Russia says it will withdraw some of its troops from Ukraine border
Russia’s defence ministry has announced it is to withdraw some of its troops from the border with Ukraine in a possible de-escalation of the threat of a potential invasion.
The size of the withdrawal remains unclear and may involve only a fraction of Russia’s forces at the Ukrainian border, which western officials estimate at more than 60% of the country’s ground forces.
The announcement of the withdrawal came in a statement from the defence ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov, who described ongoing exercises that involved forces from “practically all military districts, fleets, and the airborne forces”.
“Units of the southern and western military districts, which have accomplished their missions, are boarding trains and trucks and will head for their garrisons later today,” Konashenkov said in the statement.
The defence ministry also released a video of Russian tanks and other heavy weaponry being loaded on to railway cars, the Interfax news service reported.
Russia’s rouble currency reportedly posted gains following the announcement, indicating that investors hoped this would mark the beginning of a de-escalation of tensions between Russia and the west.
Russia has previously announced the conclusion of military exercises near the Ukrainian border, but social media and satellite photography taken in the following days have not shown considerable changes to Russia’s force posture. Those exercises involved only a small number of troops.
Many of the troops located close to the Ukrainian border are not involved in any formal training. When questioned on the buildup, Russia has said it has the right to move troops as it wishes within its own territory.
Russia is holding large joint exercises with Belarus scheduled to end on 20 February. Western countries have warned that those drills could be used as cover to prepare for an attack on Ukraine, while Russia has said those troops will return to base once the exercises have concluded.
Russian government officials moved quickly to accuse the west of hysteria and argue that the withdrawal of troops showed that Nato warnings of an invasion were spurious.
Read the full story here:
Liz Truss is said to be “very worried” about a “tank offensive” into Ukraine.
However, speaking on LBC, the foreign secretary said tanks were “not the only possibility” as “there are all kinds of ways in which the attack could take place”.
Asked what the Russians were capable of doing, Truss replied:
They certainly are capable of staging a tank invasion.
Meanwhile, she said the BBC was right not to apologise over a joke about Ukraine made by the chatshow host Graham Norton.
The corporation caused controversy this month when the TV presenter said on his programme that Ukraine could soon be “south-west Russia”.
Asked if the BBC should apologise for that, Truss told LBC:
I’m a believer in free speech. I don’t necessarily believe that every joke on the BBC is in good taste but I certainly don’t support a censorship state that stops comedians making jokes.
Radio presenter Tom Swarbrick then asked: “So, you don’t particularly find it funny but you think the BBC are right not to apologise on free speech grounds?” to which Truss replied “Yes”.
Updated
Boris Johnson is expected to deny wrongdoing to the police by arguing his presence at Downing Street gatherings in lockdown was part of the working day, though No 10 said his official response to the Metropolitan police would remain private.
The prime minister has until Friday to answer a questionnaire sent by the Met which may lead the force to issue a fixed penalty notice (FPN) or conclude there was no case to answer.
Johnson is expected to reject the allegation that he broke any laws prohibiting gatherings, but No 10 said it would not make public his defence. His official spokesperson said: “We will respond as required. As you know, I think the Met made clear that that was in seven days, so we will comply with that requirement.”
Questionnaires have been sent by the Met to dozens of aides and civil servants believed to have been at gatherings in Downing Street during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
Scotland Yard will reportedly reveal the number of people fined at each “partygate” event being investigated and explain why the decision was taken, civil servants have been told.
Speaking on a visit in Scotland, Johnson said he would have “a lot more in due course” to say on the partygate row once the police investigation was concluded. At that point, the full investigation by Sue Gray, the senior civil servant tasked with carrying out an inquiry, is expected to be published.
Read more here:
Liz Truss has said Russia could move swiftly to Kyiv after an attack on the border.
When asked how quickly Russians could move to the Ukrainian capital if they decide to invade, the foreign secretary told Sky News:
Very, very quickly. They have troops stationed around Ukraine. So, there could be an attack on Kyiv. There could be an attack from the east.
What we also suspect is there could be a false flag operation. There could be false claims that they have been provoked to give a pretext for Russian invasion.
What we have been doing is we’ve been calling out the Russians, we’ve been exposing their attempts to put a puppet government into Kyiv, we have been exposing their attempts to create a pretext.
What we do expect over the next few days is there could be an attempt of a false flag operation to create a pretext to claim the Ukrainians are attacking them, so that the Russians have a justification for invading Ukraine.
The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, cited Iran and China as examples of potential aggressors who could be emboldened to expand their ambitions by Russia attacking Ukraine.
She warned of a “dangerous moment for the world” and said the “prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine was highly likely”.
Speaking on Sky News, Truss said “we could be on the brink of a war in Europe, which would have severe consequences not just for the people of Russian and Ukraine but for the broader security in Europe”, adding she was “very worried”.
Her comments came as last-ditch efforts for a diplomatic situation to the crisis on the Russia-Ukraine border are sought by world leaders including Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.
A core pillar of the dispute is Russia’s demand for the west to guarantee Ukraine will not join Nato, the defensive alliance of 30 countries. Truss has said it was not for Russia to determine Ukraine’s security arrangements.
She said:
The big risk is if there is an invasion into Ukraine. That would be hugely damaging for Russia and Ukraine, and it would further undermine stability in Europe.
President Putin has actively questioned why other countries in eastern Europe are members of Nato as well, so this I fear would not stop at Ukraine.
This is an attack on the neighbouring states of Russia and other east European countries in trying to undermine the legitimacy of them being part of Nato.
Read the full story here:
Updated
A Russian invasion of Ukraine could pose a threat to Europe’s wider stability that emboldens aggressors around the world, Liz Truss said on Tuesday.
The foreign secretary also said an attack is highly likely and could be imminent.
Russia has more than 100,000 troops massed near the border of Ukraine. Russian political leaders deny western accusations that it is planning to invade, but say it could take unspecified “military-technical” action unless a range of demands are met, including barring Kyiv from ever joining the Nato alliance, PA news reports.
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden agreed in a call on Monday that there was a crucial window for diplomacy, but Truss said an invasion could be imminent, and Russian troops could reach Kyiv “very, very quickly”.
The foreign secretary told Sky News:
This is ... about the wider stability of Europe. And it’s about wider global stability, and the message that we give to aggressors and we have to give the message to Vladimir Putin that there can be no reward for aggression.
Truss echoed politicians in the US who have warned that a so-called “false flag” operation could be used by Moscow to trigger a conflict.
She said:
It is still the case that an invasion could be imminent, and it is highly likely.
Welcome to today’s politics live blog. I’m Nicola Slawson and I’ll be taking the lead today. You can contact me on Twitter (@Nicola_Slawson) or via email (nicola.slawson@theguardian.com) if you have any questions or think I’m missing something.
You can also check out our dedicated Ukraine crisis blog here:
Our global coronavirus liveblog, meanwhile, is here:
Updated
