Top story: More countries pile sanctions on Putin regime
Hello, Warren Murray bringing you into the middle of a momentous week.
Ukraine has called up its military reservists after Russia began moving troops into the country’s east, while Vladimir Putin said he supported vastly expanded territorial claims made by two breakaway areas. Overnight, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said it was Putin’s “plan all along to invade Ukraine”. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, ruled out a general mobilisation of the army while warning that Ukraine could face a battle for its very existence.
From Kyiv, Emma Graham-Harrison writes that nearly a decade of war has left Ukraine with about half a million combat-experienced veterans, many of whom are preparing to fight again. That combined with the sheer size of Ukrainian territory means that even if Russia can outgun them on a conventional battlefield, any military clash could lead to a protracted and bloody partisan conflict. After Putin on Monday signed a presidential order recognising the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, it has become clear the Russian president is backing the territories’ claims to nearly three times the area currently under their control.
In developments on the sanctions front, Japan has targeted Russian government bonds and trade and people linked to the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk. Australia said eight senior Russian security officials and the oil and gas sectors would be targeted in its first round of sanctions. Justin Trudeau said Canada was sending hundreds more troops along with sanctions against Russian MPs and state-backed banks. It comes after Joe Biden said the US would sanction Russian banks, oligarchs and others. The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has suspended certification of the Russian gas pipe Nord Stream 2, while the EU announced punitive measures that may be expanded at a G7 meeting later this week. Britain’s sanctions package unveiled by Boris Johnson in the Commons has come under attack from his own Conservative MPs, among others, as too weak.
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‘Embarrassment’ of Johnson questionnaire – The first glimpse of a “partygate” questionnaire confirms Downing Street insiders are being questioned under police caution and asked if they have a “reasonable excuse”. Boris Johnson has already returned his replies to the Metropolitan police’s questions, and is believed to have argued, with the help of a lawyer, that he attended lockdown-breaching social events in No 10 in a work capacity.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “This is an embarrassment that for the first time in UK history we have a PM interviewed under police caution.” Johnson receiving a fixed penalty notice for breaching rules that he himself drew up is regarded as unacceptable to many Conservative backbenchers, and would be likely to prompt more letters calling for a vote of no confidence.
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Midweek catch-up
> An armed robber who held people hostage in an Apple store in central Amsterdam was overpowered last night after a siege lasting several hours, police have said, with his captives all freed.
> Fraud and error are likely to have cost the UK government as much as £16bn across the Covid-19 emergency loan schemes, according to parliament’s spending watchdog, which described the losses as “unacceptable”.
> The Pentagon is expected to approve sending 700 to 800 unarmed national guard troops to Washington in the face of truck driver protests next week against pandemic restrictions.
> So much methane is leaking from the world’s oil and gas facilities that the money gained by plugging them and recouping the gas could easily offset the cost of doing so, the International Energy Agency has found.
> An unknown director, producer or writer will be given £1.5m and a global launch on Netflix, in an effort to discover a future generation of “bold, distinctive” UK storytellers.
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‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’ – The NHS does not have the 6,000 staff including thousands of radiographers and radiologists that it needs to run promised new testing centres designed to speed up diagnosis of cancer and other diseases, medical leaders are warning. NHS England has promised to spend £2.3bn setting up at least 100 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) by early 2025. Richard Evans from the Society and College of Radiographers, said there was a risk the NHS would end up “robbing Peter to pay Paul” by pulling specialists into the CDCs from other areas of the health service that still needed them. A spokesperson for the health department said the NHS was employing record numbers of staff and was “focused on securing even more staff”.
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Young turn inward – Happiness and confidence among Britain’s 16- to 25-year-olds is at a 13-year low, according to research exposing the impact of Covid. Forty per cent of young people report being anxious about socialising with others and 35% say they have never felt more alone, the Prince’s Trust reports. “There are great hugs and shrieks when they get together, but then everyone goes on their phone,” said a youth worker in London. Claire Carroll from the Prince’s Trust said: “Young people aren’t getting the same level of new experiences and that’s stopping them becoming independent.” Jonathan Townsend, the trust’s UK CEO, said: “With the right support from businesses, government and charities we can turn this around and ensure young people have the right skills and confidence to feel positive about their future work, and about their life overall.”
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Light on the tiles – The largest expanse of Roman mosaic found in London for more than half a century has been unearthed at a site believed to have been a venue for high-ranking officials to lounge in while being served food and drink. Dating from the late second to early third century, the flowers and geometric patterns were a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime find, said Antonietta Lerz, of the Museum of London Archaeology (Mola).
The mosaic, which is eight metres long, was discovered about a month ago at a construction site near London Bridge. It will be lifted later this year for preservation and conservation work, with the eventual hope of it being publicly displayed.
Today in Focus podcast: What will Putin do next?
After weeks of threats, Vladimir Putin has sent soldiers and tanks into eastern Ukraine. Shaun Walker and Patrick Wintour explain what the new stage of the crisis means for Ukraine and its allies.
Lunchtime read: ‘The swoosh of a sequin’
After two years of you-know-what, the party dress is back! If you’re looking to dance the night away, London fashion week was bursting with ideas, writes Jess Cartner-Morley.
Sport
Thomas Tuchel says Romelu Lukaku was dropped from Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Lille in order to take him out of the firing line after a torrid afternoon at Crystal Palace in which he touched the ball only seven times. Dusan Vlahovic scored 31 seconds into his Champions League debut as Juventus drew 1-1 at Villarreal in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday. Jürgen Klopp has said the punishing demands of a title race with Manchester City ensure Liverpool can never afford to “get a bit soft” in their pursuit of the Premier League leaders.
Sarina Wiegman has urged England to be more “ruthless” in the final game of the Arnold Clark Cup against Germany on Wednesday. Athletes at the Commonwealth Games this year will be allowed to raise a fist on the podium to protest in favour of racial equality, and wave Pride flags in support of LGBT+ rights during victory laps, the Guardian has learned. Phil Mickelson has apologised for his “reckless” comments about a proposed Saudi-backed breakaway league and said he will be taking a break from golf. Wales have been warned to expect a fast and furious welcome from England at Twickenham on Saturday in a game the home team are billing as a knockout eliminator.
Business
Petrol prices could reach 150p a litre in Britain this week after the worsening tension in Ukraine added fresh pressure to the cost of living crisis facing households. Oil reached $99 a barrel yesterday although it has since fallen back slightly to around $97 today after the markets judged that the west’s sanctions would not disrupt supplies from the world’s third largest producer. The FTSE100 looks like climbing around 0.25% at the opening bell today while the pound is on $1.359 and €1.200.
The papers
We have a separate roundup of front pages today, summarised as follows. The Times says “West imposes sanctions as Biden warns of war” and carries an image of Russian troops and tanks in the Rostov region, close to the border with Ukraine. The Express demands “Punish Putin harder now” urging Boris Johnson to squeeze 150 Russian oligarchs. The Mirror agrees, saying “Get dirty Russian money out of UK now” and calls UK sanctions “feeble”. The Metro says “We’ll grab him by the roubles” – it carries a hint of discontent at the extent of the sanctions but is broadly positive about the “first barrage” of measures.
The Guardian focuses on the latest developments abroad, with the headline “War threat grows as Putin backs Ukraine proxy states” and a huge image of Russian tanks ploughing through the mud close to Ukraine’s border. It gives prominence to Biden’s comments and Germany’s decision to put the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia on hold. The Telegraph gives the US president the headline – “Putin is invading and will go much further, says Biden” – and Johnson the main image.
The Mail takes a more visceral approach with “Twisted Putin is ready for bloodshed”. It notes Russian tank movements and says 100 Nato jets are on alert. The Financial Times has “Putin backs separatist claims to whole Donbas region of Ukraine”. “Putin takes Europe to brink of war”, says the i, and the Sun’s headline is “Boris: stop mad Vlad”.
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