Johnson to fly to Ukraine for crisis talks amid fears of Russian attack
The Prime Minister will urge Vladimir Putin to ‘step back from the brink’ when they speak ahead of his visit to Kyiv.
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson will travel to Kyiv for crisis talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky amid continuing fears over Russia’s military build-up, Downing Street has said.
Ahead of his visit to the Ukrainian capital, the Prime Minister will urge Vladimir Putin to “step back from the brink” when he speaks to the Russian president later on Monday.
Speaking during a visit to Essex, Mr Johnson said he will again tell the Russian president that an invasion of Ukraine would be “an absolute disaster for the world”.
The Prime Minister’s visit on Tuesday, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss marks a further ratcheting up of diplomatic activity as the West seeks to convince Moscow that any military incursion against its neighbour will come at a high price.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Johnson said: “What I will say to President Putin, as I have said before, is that I think we really all need to step back from the brink.
“I think Russia needs to step back from the brink.
“I think that an invasion of Ukraine, any incursion into Ukraine beyond the territory that Russia has already taken in 2014 would be an absolute disaster for the world, and above all it would be a disaster for Russia.”
Mr Johnson said that any Russian invasion would be “bitterly and bloodily resisted” by the Ukrainian people.
The Prime Minister’s comments came as part of a concerted diplomatic push to maintain the unity of Nato allies in the response to Russia.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson will urge the Russian president to “take a diplomatic path” and avoid a “very costly” military action in Ukraine.
“Our aim is to continue to encourage Russia to take a diplomatic path, to de-escalate and to step back from what could be a very costly exercise if they were to follow the path of further aggression,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“He has been clear at all points that pursuing that path would be extremely costly for the Russian people and it’s something we want to avoid and will continue to negotiate on.”
Meanwhile, Ms Truss will use a Commons statement on Monday to set out plans for a toughened sanctions regime which could be used to target senior figures linked to Vladimir Putin’s administration.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “The Russian elite should be in no doubt that we have significant powers and will take them further, which will place massive pressure on them should they continue on this path of aggression.”
In a further move, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, seen as one of Mr Putin’s closest partners in Nato and the European Union, is expected to travel to Moscow on Tuesday for talks which have led to concerns about the alliance being undermined.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who was in Budapest for talks with his counterparts, insisted he supports Mr Orban’s visit, telling a press conference: “I think it’s very important that President Putin hears from a country such as Hungary that they will face direct economic consequences of any instability in the east.
“I don’t know what the prime minister of Hungary will actually say to Putin but I think it is clear that we all are in agreement that we don’t want instability, we don’t want war in the east, we don’t want casualties, we don’t want migrant flows, we don’t want high fuel prices and food prices which would inevitably follow from any actions.”
The UK is expected to bolster military presence in eastern Europe as part of Nato’s efforts to secure the region.
But British and Nato combat forces are not expected to be deployed in Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance.
Around 100 British personnel are involved in a training mission in the country.
Mr Johnson said: “We have been there since 2014, training Ukrainian troops under Operation Orbital – about 21,000 we have trained.
“We give lethal but defensive weaponry to Ukraine.”