Russian Ambassador Summoned To Foreign Office As "Full Scale" Ukraine Invasion Is Feared
3 min read
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has summoned Russia’s ambassador to the Foreign Office after Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last night.
Truss called for an urgent meeting with Andrei Kelin after Russian forces invaded the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Monday evening.
She has said that she wants Kelin to “explain Russia’s violation of international law and disregard of Ukraine’s sovereignty”.
In response to the invasion, Boris Johnson is set to lay out a series of sanctions against Russia in the House of Commons this afternoon as his official spokesperson warned a “full-scale” invasion of Ukraine remains on the cards.
"There is no doubt that the deployment of these forces that we've seen reported in sovereign Ukrainian territory amounts to renewed invasion of the country," they told reporters.
"President Putin has sent his troops in, he's broken international law, he's repudiated the Minsk agreement."
The spokesperson described Russia's advance into eastern Ukraine overnight as a likely "precursor to a full-scale invasion".
"We want to continue to pursue any diplomatic avenues that exist and we'll be speaking to other world leaders and urging Russia to step back from this action," the spokesperson added.
Downing Street has said the UK would be prepared to "go further" on sanctions should Russia "choose to proceed with further aggression" towards Ukraine.
Johnson's spokesperson confirmed that today's announcement would be "the first barrage of sanctions", with more options available to them if needed.
Number 10 has also welcomed Germany’s decision to cancel the planned NordStream 2 pipeline to transport Russian gas into western Europe.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took the significant step of blocking the certification of the project this morning following months of pressure to do so.
"The situation we find ourselves in today is a completely different one," he told a press conference with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin.
Johnson’s spokesperson noted that Germany's suspension of Nord Stream 2 was "something that the Prime Minister has been calling for for some time".
The Foreign Office has announced it is sending "rapid deployment teams" to countries neighbouring Ukraine to assist British nationals who cross over the border.
The Prime Minister's official spokesperson said teams were being deployed to Poland, Moldova, Lithuania and Slovakia to provide consular support.
Truss said there is also increasing the support available to help Britons leave Ukraine.
"The safety and security of British nationals in Ukraine is our top priority,” the Foreign Secretary said.
"All Brits should leave now via commercial routes while they are still available."
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