The shock of any invasion of Ukraine by Russia would “echo around the world”, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told world leaders.
We must be “unflinchingly honest” about the situation in Ukraine and should not “underestimate the gravity of this moment,” he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. The Prime Minister further stated that whilst he does not know what Russian President Vladimir Putin intends, the “omens are grim”.
Western nations have warned Russia could invade Ukraine imminently, with over 130,000 of its troops near the border, accusing Russia of trying to stage a fake crisis in a breakaway eastern region of Ukraine to give it a reason to invade.
Urging unity among the UK’s Western allies, Johnson said: “Every time that Western ministers have visited Kyiv, we have assured the people of Ukraine and their leaders that we stand foursquare behind their sovereignty and independence.
“How hollow, how meaningless, how insulting those words would seem, if at the very moment when their sovereignty and independence is imperilled, we simply look away.”
If Ukraine were invaded, Mr Johnson said “we will witness the destruction of a democratic state, a country that has been free for a generation, with a proud history of elections”.
Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards Western institutions, including and especially NATO, seeing the eastward expansion of the military alliance as a threat to its security.
Johnson warned that any invasion would also be met with sanctions on Russian individuals and companies, and that the UK would “open up the Matryoshka dolls” of certain Russian-owned companies and make it impossible for them to raise finance in London. His comments follow the announcement of new legislation allowing the UK to widen its sanctions against the country.
“If Ukraine is invaded, the shock will echo around the world, and those echoes will be heard in East Asia they will be heard in Taiwan,” he told the Munich Conference.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May, who has previously been critical of her successor, took to social media to back Johnson’s stance against Putin’s Russia.
In a joint statement, foreign ministers from the G7 group of wealthy nations said they had seen “no evidence” that Russia has withdrawn some of its forces, as it has claimed, and that they remained “gravely concerned” by the situation.
“We call on Russia to choose the path of diplomacy, to de-escalate tensions, to substantively withdraw military forces from the proximity of Ukraine’s borders and to fully abide by international commitments,” the statement said.
“As a first step, we expect Russia to implement the announced reduction of its military activities along Ukraine’s borders. We will judge Russia by its deeds.”
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