Military kit also needs boots on the ground to operate it – hence Sir Patrick’s call for a “Citizen Army” to boost the regular Armed Forces. According to a 2022 YouGov poll, only one in five Britons would volunteer for service in the event of an invasion. Britain has also allowed ammunition supplies to dwindle to “dangerously low levels,” according to a Parliamentary Defence Committee report. 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”. The decline in manufacturing means there are far fewer factories that can be converted to make arms, as happened in the Second World War, when car makers churned out Spitfire parts.
The German government has brought forward its target for 100% renewable electricity by five years to 2035. In response to the current crisis, the EU is proposing expedite plans to link Ukrainian's electricity system to the EU's, which would boost Ukraine's independence from Russia's grid, with which it is currently tied. Ukrainian protesters gathered outside Downing Street on Thursday afternoon to call for more action from the UK and the international community. "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." Russia’s invasion caused international stock markets to drop dramatically, with the FTSE 100 in London falling by 3.2 per cent.
What does the Russian invasion of Ukraine mean for the UK?
While Covid was a useful exercise in Armageddon planning, 21st-century Britain is arguably less ready for actual warfare than it was even 30 years ago. At the end of the Cold War, most of the 100-strong network of nuclear bunkers were closed, along with around 1,500 underground posts for the Royal Observer Corps, a 10,000-strong volunteer force. Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers. But far-fetched as they might sound, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of Britain’s army, believes it is time we dwelt on them more.
- President Putin recognises the independence of the two Russian-backed separatists areas in eastern Ukraine and says troops will be sent to support them.
- A source told BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley the meeting was "tempestuous" and ended early after Ms Truss said the ambassador should be "ashamed" of Russia's behaviour in Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin had lied repeatedly.
- Russian-backed rebels control areas of eastern Ukraine near Russia's borders in a conflict which has cost an estimated 14,000 lives.
- Russian officials said they had "no information" about the attacks, but prominent pro-war Russian commentators have said the loss of an A-50 would be significant.
The UK "cannot and will not just look away" at Russia's "hideous and barbaric" attack on Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said. The UK is not protected from rising prices purely because it relies less on Russian gas. Moscow’s ambassador to London previously warned that the UK would be hit with “immediate retaliation” if it tried to sanction Russia. If President Putin decides to extend his attacks beyond Russia and into a neighbouring Nato state, such as Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, then the UK would be bound to go to war with Russia. But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions.
Russian invasion of Ukraine: UK government response
Several European countries bordering Ukraine are already preparing for the arrival of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron has said the Russian attack on Ukraine is a "turning point" in European history. Speaking on Thursday US President Joe Biden described the invasion as a premeditated attack without provocation, justification and necessity. Russia's ally Belarus will face similar sanctions because of its role in the attack on Ukraine. Russian airline Aeroflot will be banned from landing in the UK and within days all high tech and oil refinery equipment exports to Russia will not be allowed.
- The government is likely to face further pressure on its tentative support for onshore wind and solar.
- "We think, in orbit… they're using some of their things as ASATS (anti-satellite weapons). Actually, just colliding with them, we can't prove that. And they may be able to disable some of them electronically as well."
- Unfortunately for the Russians, it was clear they hadn't planned sufficiently well to undertake an effective invasion, and the forces operating their equipment were not well enough trained to adapt when things went wrong.
- Madame Chair, as we approach the third year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UK’s support will not falter.
- This brings the United Kingdom’s total package of support to Ukraine to approximately £12 billion.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has since advised all UK citizens to leave the country, but it is not known how many remain and the FCDO has declined to comment on numbers. Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, the UK has sanctioned around 183 individuals under the Russia sanctions regime. There was a major separatist conflict in Chechnya in the 1990s, with a decade of ultimately unsuccessful fighting for its independence. Speaking as the Foreign Office pulled some embassy staff out of Ukraine, the PM said the situation was "pretty gloomy" but war was not inevitable.
Ukraine conflict: Simple visual guide to the Russian invasion
This culminated on 29 December, when Russian unleashed its largest aerial assault against Ukraine since the war began. It killed at least 41 civilians, including a 15-year-old boy, wounded hundreds, and caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, including a maternity hospital. It is regrettable - and sadly predictable - that we must gather today to condemn Russia’s latest wave of aerial attacks against the Ukrainian people. Ambassador Neil Holland condemns Russia's air attacks this week on Kyiv and Kharkiv, as well as the spate of attacks on Ukraine over the past month. In World War Two, single women aged 20 to 30 years old who did not have young children were called up to help on the home front as mechanics, engineers, air raid wardens, bus drivers, farmers, and more.
Ukraine's military says it has shot down a Russian military spy plane over the Sea of Azov, in what analysts say would be a blow to Moscow's air power. We will continue to work with Ukraine and our international partners for a just and sustainable peace. Conscription was briefly ended in Ukraine in 2013, however, following the Russian military intervention in the country in 2014, it got reinstated.
Hungary has signalled it is ready to compromise on EU funding for Ukraine - after Brussels reportedly prepared to sabotage its economy if it did not comply. Meanwhile, Moscow has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-does-ukraine-invasion-mean-for-us.html said the leaders agreed that if a further Russian incursion took place, "allies must enact swift retributive responses including an unprecedented package of sanctions". We have also not made any explicit adjustments for the domestic consequences of international sanctions on Russian financial institutions or individuals, beyond what might be reflected in equity prices in the fiscal forecast. We do not assume these actions have a material effect on overall financial stability, lending, or investment in the UK.