Europe is facing the “most dangerous moment” in its “biggest security crisis” in decades as Russia amasses troops on its border with Ukraine, according to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
More than 100,000 Russian troops are believed to be stationed on the country’s border with Ukraine, but the Russian government has insisted that it has no plans to invade. Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Feb. 10, Johnson said he doesn’t think the Russian government has made a decision on whether to invade Ukraine.
“Our intelligence, I’m afraid to say, remains grim,“ he said. ”We’re seeing the massing of huge numbers of tactical battalion groups on the border with Ukraine.
“This is probably the most dangerous moment in the course of the next few days in what is the biggest security crisis Europe has faced for decades.”
Johnson warned Russia that the idea of a Europe that’s “whole and free” and NATO’s open-door policy allowing Ukraine to aspire to membership are “non-negotiable.”
The UK has put 1,000 troops on standby in case of a humanitarian crisis in the east if the current Russian military build-up leads to war, although the government has previously indicated it’s unlikely that British troops would join the fighting.
The UK has also supplied about 2,000 anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.
Asked if he could authorise military support to an insurgency in Ukraine in the event of an invasion, Johnson said, “We will consider what more we can conceivably offer.”
He said the Ukrainians are “well prepared” and that an invasion would be “an absolute disaster.”
Following the talks in Brussels, Johnson arrived in Poland to offer support to NATO allies in Eastern Europe. At a joint appearance with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw, Johnson said the UK and Poland won’t accept a world where a “powerful neighbour can bully or attack” others.
“We need to work together now to achieve de-escalation, to persuade Vladimir Putin to deescalate and to disengage,” he said.
The trip is part of the UK government’s diplomatic push aimed at preventing Russian aggression.
Also on Feb. 10, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held talks in Moscow with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Truss told Russia to abandon “Cold War rhetoric” and follow a diplomatic path to ease the Ukraine crisis.
“There is still time for Russia to end its aggression toward Ukraine and pursue the path of diplomacy,” she said. “But NATO is very clear that if that path is not chosen, there will be severe consequences for Russia, Ukraine, and the whole of Europe.”
