Ukraine-Russia latest news: Johnson warns of ‘biggest war in Europe since 1945’

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Car engulfed in flames following explosion at Donetsk gas station

Boris Johnson said that a war in Ukraine could be the “biggest in Europe since 1945”, in terms of size.

In a BBC interview, the prime minister said that he wanted people to “understand the sheer cost in human life” that an invasion of Ukraine would bring

Elsewhere, speaking at the Munich security conference, Mr Johnson warned that the world was at “the eleventh hour” to avert a conflict and said any invasion would encourage other countries to resort to military aggression.

His comments come as Vladimir Putin oversaw strategic nuclear exercises involving launches of ballistic missiles, in an apparent “show of strength”.

Western leaders in Munich said they wanted to continue dialogue with Russia, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying there were clear indications Russia was still open to diplomacy.

Speaking from Washington, Joe Biden said he was “convinced” Russian forces would launch an invasion “within days” beginning with an attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. He said he did not think Mr Putin was considering the use of nuclear force, despite tests.

Key PointsShow latest update 1645348757Ukraine suspends operations Donbass checkpoints

Ukraine suspended operations at one of the seven checkpoints to territory in the eastern Donbass region on Sunday, controlled by Russia-backed separatists, because of to heavy shelling, the Ukrainian military said.

Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists have sharply increased in the past week, in what the Ukrainian government has called a provocation.

Separatists fired three times at the Schastya checkpoint on Saturday using mortars and heavy anti-tank grenade launchers.

This came as violations by separatists along the frontline increased to 136 from 66 on Friday, the military said on social media.

Eleanor Sly20 February 2022 09:19

1645347967Explosions heard in Donetsk

A number of explosions were heard on Sunday in the center of the eastern Ukrainian separatist-held city of Donetsk, a Reuters witness said.

A loudspeaker in the area called on citizens to be cautious.

As yet, the origin of the explosions is not clear.

Eleanor Sly20 February 2022 09:06

1645347626Biden to convening a National Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Sunday

President Biden will be convening a National Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Sunday, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced in a statement.

“President Biden continues to monitor the evolving situation in Ukraine, and is being updated regularly about events on the ground by his national security team. They reaffirmed that Russia could launch an attack against Ukraine at any time,” she said.

Ms Psaki went on to say that the president had received an update on Vice President Harris’s meetings at the Munich Security Conference.

Eleanor Sly20 February 2022 09:00

1645346620’Russia has show itself to be a very aggressive neighbor and it needs to stop,’ James Cleverly

Europe minister James Cleverly told Trevor Phillips “we’re seeing more belligerent behavior from Russia” but “we’re trying very hard to prevent conflict from happening.”

“Unfortunately, at the moment, an attack, an seems far more likely than an invasion but we will continue to work to try and avert that,” Mr Cleverly told Sky News.

“Everything that we see indicates that invasion is very, very, highly likely and very, very imminent.”

Speaking in an interview, Mr Cleverly added that there was a “continued aggression coming out of the Kremlin,” adding that “Russia has show itself to be a very aggressive neighbor and it needs to stop”

The minister went on to say that the “unprecedented accumulation” of military troops, the largest since World War Two, meant that NATO could not lie flat.

Ukraine is not a NATO member state and hence, Mr Cleverly explained that although the UK would send weapons to aid the country and would put sanctions on Russia, they would not send troops.

Eleanor Sly20 February 2022 08:43

1645343906Ukraine and Russia: Join our expert panel as they discuss the simmering conflict and what could happen next

Join our free virtual event expert panel on Wednesday 23 February hosted by The Independent’s International Editor David Harding.

David will be joined by Deputy International Editor Kieran Guilbert, broadcaster Mary Dejevsky and Defense and Diplomatic Editor Kim Sengupta, who has been on the ground in Ukraine to discuss what’s happening and what could next.

Eleanor Sly20 February 2022 07:58

1645334540’What are you waiting for’: Zelensky demands action as he rips the West

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday demanded urgent sanctions by the West on Russia and said Kiev needs “to be reminded of the dates of plausible intervention” but said action is needed urgently.

“The security architecture of our world is brittle, it is obsolete,” Mr Zelensky said on Saturday during a powerful speech at a security conference in Munich.

He accused the governments in the west of “egotism,” “arrogance” and “appeasement” while urging them to publicly share their plans for sanctions on Russia.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked shellings have escalated in eastern Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels urged locals to evacuate their homes.

“Action is needed,” he said, adding that “this is not about war in Ukraine, this is about war in Europe.”

“We don’t need to be reminded of the dates of plausible intervention,” Zelensky said, adding that “we’re going to protect our country” regardless of when Russia attacks.

“It’s important for all our partners and friends to not agree about anything behind our back,” he said. “We’re not panicking. We’re very consistent that we are not responding to any provocation.

“Just putting ourselves in coffins and waiting for foreign soldiers to come in is not something we are prepared to do,” he said. “We cannot say on a daily basis that war will happen tomorrow.”

Shweta Sharma20 February 2022 05:22

1645333435Zelensky calls on Putin to meet

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to meet to diffuse tensions as shelling in the eastern separatist regions of his country threatened full-scale war.

“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,” Mr Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference.

“Ukrainian diplomatic will continue to follow only the path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.”

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.

Mr Zelensky’s appeal hours after separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilisation on Saturday while western leaders made dire warnings that a Russian invasion appeared imminent.

Shweta Sharma20 February 2022 05:03

1645327212UK government expects ‘cyber attacks aimed at the West’, Priti Patel warns

Priti Patel has said that, “as this crisis” develops, the government expects to see “information warfare and cyber attacks aimed at the West”, and is poised “to identify and tackle Russian information targeted at the UK”.

GCHQ director Sir Jeremy Fleming has told the heads of organizations involved in the UK’s critical national infrastructure to strengthen their cyber defences, the head of GCHQ’s National Cyber ​​Security Center said on Saturday night.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, alongside the home secretary, Lindy Cameron “strongly urged” other organizations and institutions to take “pre-emptive” action to protect themselves if they have not already done so.

Andy Gregory20 February 2022 03:20

1645324272 Russian war with Ukraine could be ‘biggest in Europe since 1945’, Boris Johnson says

Boris Johnson has warned that Russia could be planning “the biggest war in Europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale”.

He made the comments to the BBC’s Sunday Morning show.

Ukraine: Russia plans the biggest war in Europe since 1945, says Boris Johnson

Andy Gregory20 February 2022 02:31

1645321493West fears Russia is on ‘brink’ of eastern invasion as violence escalates in Ukraine

The Independent’s deputy international editor Kieran Guilbert has this summary of the day’s developments – as fears rise that escalating violence in eastern Ukraine could be used as a pretext by Moscow to justify invading its neighbor.

Andy Gregory20 February 2022 01:44

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