Nato allies prepare to meet after ‘cynical and brutal invasion’ of Ukraine
| Published date | 25 February 2022 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion in the early hours of Thursday, thought to be Moscow’s most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed.
Airstrikes and shelling were reported across the country, and CNN reported a further strike was expected on the capital Kyiv overnight.
Meanwhile, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a full military mobilisation lasting 90 days.
Mr Johnson told his Cabinet on Thursday night that the UK could be proud of its role in supporting Ukraine, after the Prime Minister announced the “largest and most severe” package of sanctions Russia has ever faced to punish “blood-stained aggressor” Vladimir Putin.
“He said the UK could be proud of the actions it has taken so far, playing a leading role in Nato, developing a tough economic sanctions package together with our allies, and providing lethal defensive weaponry to the Ukrainian government,” a No 10 spokesperson said.
“He told Cabinet that the Ukrainian military was fighting back in defiance of Putin’s attempts to subjugate Ukraine. And he pointed to protests within Russia which demonstrated that Putin’s actions would also face resistance from within his own country.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace spoke to their Ukrainian counterparts on Thursday night.
Ms Truss tweeted: “We continue to support Ukraine politically, economically and defensively in the face of Russia’s abhorrent invasion.”
Earlier, Mr Johnson unveiled his second barrage of sanctions to “hobble the Russian economy”.
Among the new UK sanctions introduced were measures to hit five further oligarchs, including the Russian president’s former son-in-law, and to target more than 100 businesses and individuals.
Mr Johnson said he was sanctioning “all the major manufacturers that support Putin’s war machine”, will ban Aeroflot from touching down planes in the UK and will freeze the assets of all major Russian banks, including immediately against VTB.
But he resisted calls from some MPs and Ukraine’s ambassador to London to support Nato introducing a no-fly zone over...
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