New Delhi: Amid escalating tensions between Moscow and Kiev, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said that Britain will immediately institute a package of economic sanctions targeting Russian economic interests.
“President Putin has violated Ukrainian sovereignty and international law by sending troops into eastern Ukraine.

We will immediately institute a package of economic sanctions targeting Russian economic interests,” tweeted UK PM. All the evidence show that Russian President Vladimir Putin is bent on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an independent, sovereign European country. Let’s be clear, that would be catastrophic, read the UK Government release regarding updates on Ukraine.

“If Vladimir Putin continues down this track of violence, aggression and full-scale invasion, then it’s absolutely vital that conquest should not succeed and Putin should fail. That is what we will be exerting ourselves to ensure is the outcome,” said Johnson.

He said that Putin has violated Ukrainian sovereignty and international law, adding that “UK had a COBR meeting about the situation in Ukraine, particularly in the Donbas region, where plainly, Russian President Vladimir Putin has now violated Ukrainian sovereignty. He has sent troops in, he has broken international law, he has repudiated the Minsk Agreement and torn up the understanding from Budapest in 1994 that Ukraine’s territorial integrity would be respected. He has completely torn up international law.”

Regarding economic sanctions, the UK PM said that Britain will not just target entities in Donbas, in Luhansk and Donetsk, but Russia itself. “Targeting Russian economic interests as hard as we can and we will, I will be setting out a bit later in the House of Commons what we are going to do,” he said.

Johnson also said that at every turn in this crisis, the UK’s pessimistic predictions have been vindicated.
“We said that there would be false flag operations and there have been false flag operations, we said that there would be provocations in the Donbas, and that’s exactly we are now seeing,” Johnson said.

However, he insisted on discussions, adding “And I think that, let’s be absolutely clear, I think it would be absolutely catastrophic, there will, of course, be pressure for continued conversation for negotiations, and that’s right.

Whilst there is still a discussion to be had, of course, a discussion should be had and the UK will be engaged actively in diplomacy at all levels to try to find a way forward other than through the violence that President Putin seems to be proposing.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal welcomed the German decision to suspend the NorStream2 certification.

“The civilized world must give a consolidated response to Russia’s actions immediately. I’d like to welcome the prompt decision of the Federal Chancellor of #Germany @OlafScholz to suspend the #NordStream2 certification. The project should be ultimately halted,” tweeted Shmyhal.

“Russia’s decision to recognize the so-called “L/DPR” is another attempt to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty & territorial integrity. It’s a violation of the basics of international law. With our partners, we’ll take all measures to ensure a decisive response to this step of aggression,” added the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Further, President Putin blamed “accomplished a coup d’etat” led Ukraine “into an impasse.”

“President #Putin: Maidan did not bring Ukraine any closer to democracy and progress. Having accomplished a coup d’etat, the nationalists and those political forces that supported them eventually led #Ukraine into an impasse, pushed the country into the abyss of civil war,” tweeted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.