British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said Russia appears to be keen on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, adding President Vladimir Putin will find out his grave miscalculations if the Kremlin goes ahead with the same.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of Britain’s national emergency security committee, Johnson said, “I think the tragedy of the present situation is that President Putin has surrounded himself with like-minded advisors who tell him that Ukraine is not a proper country. And, I think that he is going to find that he has gravely miscalculated.”
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Johnson also said that Britain will immediately impose hard economic sanctions on Russia. The British PM’s statement comes after Putin ordered deployment of troops in two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
“This is, I should stress, just the first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia because we expect I’m afraid that there is more Russian irrational behaviour to come,” Johnson told reporters.
The British PM said these economic sanctions will not just be targeted at entities in Donbas and Luhansk and Donetsk, but in Russia itself - targeting its economic interests.
Besides Johnson, other European leaders are also implementing or are in the process of implementing sanctions on Russia.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Johnson, other European leaders are also implementing or are in the process of implementing sanctions on Russia.
{{/usCountry}}“We are going to implement appropriate and targeted sanctions against Russian interests with our European partners,” French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.
In Italy, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said his government is convinced to proceed with sanctions.
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European Union leaders have started meeting to discuss sanctions on Russia and they will not be limited to travel bans and asset freezes on individuals.
Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has hit back saying Moscow is used to sanctions as they are imposed with or without reason.
What initially seemed like an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week is now becoming the deepest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War. As many as 150,000 Russian troops are massed on three sides of Ukraine.
There have also been allegations of Russian armoured vehicles seen rolling across the separatist-controlled territories. Moscow has not yet acknowledged any deployment of troops in the rebel agencies.
However, Vladislav Brig, a member of the separatist local council in Donetsk, told reporters that Russian troops already moved in, taking up positions in the region’s north and west, according to the Associated Press.
(With agency inputs)