Boris Johnson has warned Russia from embarking on a new invasion of Ukraine, which he said would be a “painful, violent and bloody business”.
The British prime minister was speaking today after the UK government said it was partially evacuating staff from its embassy in Kyiv, just a day after the US announced a similar move.
Johnson said while the situation looked “pretty gloomy” he added that he hoped “sense can still prevail.”
The news of the evacuation plans comes in the wake of a UK allegation that Moscow was planning to overthrow the Ukrainian government and install a pro-Moscow leader in its place. Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev has denied the accusation from the UK Foreign Office but also called for new leadership in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government says it takes the UK allegations seriously, which mirror reports from US intelligence that alleged Russia was trying to recruit current and former Ukrainian politicians to take control in the wake of a full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
Russia already occupies Ukraine’s region of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 after invading Donbas in eastern Ukraine, following the toppling of pro-Kremlin former president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country after a popular uprising against his rule.
14,000 people have died since Russia first invaded eight years ago, but fears are growing that a much larger war could be imminent, which could bring a much higher death toll and create the largest war on European soil since WWII.
