Fears are rising that Vladimir Putin will launch an overnight attack on Ukraine after American intelligence warned that the Russian President could order 1am blitz.
With US media reporting that Russia will order an attack on the Ukraine at 1am on Wednesday, Boris Johnson said there were signs of a “diplomatic opening” to resolve the crisis.
After he had convened a Cobra emergency meeting in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said the intelligence analysis of the crisis was not encouraging and that there were “mixed signals” from Russia.
Johnson did not comment directly on the US media reports that there could be an overnight blitz of air strikes by Russian forces before tanks roll over the Ukraine border.
Russian claims of withdrawing troops from the border have been met with scepticism in the west
Johnson said: “There always has be an opportunity to talk and that is good, but on the other hand the intelligence we are seeing today is still not encouraging."
"We’ve got Russian field hospitals being constructed near the border with Ukraine, in Belarus, which only can be construed as preparation for an invasion."
"You’ve got more battalion tactical groups actually being brought closer according to the intelligence that we are seeing, so mixed signals at the moment.”
Johnson added that sanctions and legislation to tighten money laundering in London and take action against Russian property companies operating in the UK were ready to go.
There has been pressure from backbench Tories to bring forward an Economic Crime Bill to stop Russian money-laundering through London in this years’ Queen Speech in parliament.
As the clock ticked down German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was holding high-stake talks with Putin in Moscow after the Kremlin appeared to leave open a path to a diplomatic solution to avert conflict in Ukraine.
At a meeting with the Russian President on Monday, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov signalled that Russia was ready to keep talking about its security grievances, particularly the possibility that Ukraine may one day join Nato.
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