Gen Sir Richard Barrons, the former head of the British Joint Forces Command, told the committee that he doubted there were “sufficient munitions to sustain a high-intensity conflict for more than about a week”. After an uneasy peace with Ukraine, Moscow has sent forces into the Baltics, clashing with British troops based there to protect Nato’s eastern flank. Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, this month repeated that the UK wants to increase defence spending from 2.1% of GDP to 2.5% in the future. With an election looming, the military is hoping politicians make further pledges over defence spending. Labour has avoided making any firm spending commitments, but has criticised cuts to the size of the army and promised to launch a defence review if elected.
Satellite imagery suggests Russia is sending troops towards its border with Ukraine. Russia denies it is preparing for an invasion and accuses Nato of upping its activity in the region. Streams of cars have been seen leaving major cities and are queuing to cross borders into neighbouring countries. A number of civilian areas have been targeted, including one apartment complex outside of Kharkiv - a city of 1.4 million people in north-eastern Ukraine. Mr Putin has accused the West of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from joining the western Nato military alliance and offer Moscow security guarantees. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Mr Putin of "bringing war back to Europe" and warned a raft of "massive" sanctions would be proposed later aimed at Russia's economic base and its "capacity to modernise".
Putin's intent
The defence alliance, which counts the UK, US and many European countries as members, has also condemned Belarus for "enabling" the attack. But that troops being sent to Europe "would defend Nato allies" - which includes countries like Poland who share a border with Ukraine. At the press conference he said the US would be introducing new sanctions to "maximise long-term impact on Russia" but said US forces would not be engaging in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine. The price of British gas for next-day delivery shot up by 40 per cent, to £280 per therm. Mr Johnson promised to hit Russia with a “massive” package of sanctions designed to “hobble” the economy in Moscow. The Prime Minister called Russia’s attack a “massive invasion”, and accused President Putin of having “attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuses”.
A second night of attacks followed with heavy gunfire and explosions in parts of the capital. He said the UK's "baffling" decision to hold back sanctions until after Russia's incursion into Ukraine had not deterred Mr Putin. The only airlines still flying from the UK, Wizz Air and Ryanair, have suspended all flights to the country. UK nationals were advised two weeks ago to leave Ukraine while commercial flights were still available. Those remaining have again been urged to leave Ukraine immediately - if they judge it is safe to do so. Foreign Office minister James Cleverly warned Mr Putin's comments in recent days suggested he wanted to create "a wider Russian empire in all but name".
What does the Ukraine war mean for the UK? How Russia invasion and Putin sanctions can affect life in UK
This is partly due to the relatively large share of services in UK output and relatively large shares of energy-intensive manufacturing in some other countries (Chart C). However, 76 per cent of the UK’s gross consumption comes from gas and oil compared with a European average of 57 per cent. So, as a net energy importer with a high dependence on gas and oil, higher global energy prices will still weigh heavily on the UK economy. On Tuesday, the chief of Norway’s armed forces said the country must increase defence spending in the face of a potential war with Russia within three years, following its neighbour Sweden in urging citizens to brace for conflict.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss summoned Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, for the second time this week to ask him to explain the "illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine". "Because this act of wanton and reckless aggression is an attack not just on Ukraine, it's an attack on democracy and freedom in eastern Europe and around the world." The UK's Ministry of Defence said Russian forces based in Belarus were advancing towards Ukraine's capital Kyiv. The UK "cannot and will not just look away" at Russia's "hideous and barbaric" attack on Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said.
How do higher energy prices affect inflation?
It followed the Kremlin ordering troops into the rebel-held Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk on recognising them as independent. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a "catastrophe for our continent", Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. US President Joe Biden said Mr Putin had "chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering". Meanwhile Russia's currency, the rouble, fell to an all-time low against the dollar and the euro. "People were out on the streets last night in this city - they were waving the Ukrainian flag. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-will-happen-if-russia-wins-ukraine.html said this was their land. They were going nowhere," she reported. But later on Thursday President Zelensky said Ukraine had suffered losses and a lot of aircraft and armoured vehicles had been destroyed.
This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which "might leave NATO's eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO". If the US abandons the military alliance, it will fall to European countries to ensure a Ukrainian victory, Mr OBrien says. European countries have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO. Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US "neuter" the Western military alliance. Britain has also allowed ammunition supplies to dwindle to “dangerously low levels,” according to a Parliamentary Defence Committee report.
Events in Ukraine have also seen global share prices fall and the price of gold rise - as investors worry about the possible impact of the conflict. As a result of the conflict, oil prices have surged past $100 (£75) a barrel to hit their highest level for more than seven years, which will impact already-rising petrol prices in the UK. He also tried to reassure the British public by promising to do "everything to keep our country safe" and work with allies "for however long it takes" to restore Ukraine's independence. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK "cannot and will not just look away" at Russia's "hideous and barbaric" attack on Ukraine.
- Many are now trying to escape the country, with UN estimates suggesting over 100,000 people have already fled from their homes.
- Russia has gradually built up a force of close to 190,000 troops around the Ukrainian border over the last few weeks but maintained that it had no intention to invade – until last night.
- Further east in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, the BBC's Eastern European Correspondent Sarah Rainsford said people did not expect such a full-on assault.
- But both of these demands would break key Nato principles, namely that the alliance should be open to any European country that wants to join and that all Nato members should be sovereign nations.