Over the Christmas period, Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone strikes across cities in Ukraine including Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Lviv. 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. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed the plane and said there is no proof of who was on board.
A year after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, five IfG experts examine the impact of the war on the UK. Four extra RAF Typhoon jets have been deployed to British bases in Cyprus, while patrol ship HMS Trent has joined Nato vessels in the eastern Mediterranean. Another ship, destroyer HMS Diamond, is scheduled to join it but has suffered technical difficulties, delaying its departure.
Watch: Diplomats recall moment war broke out at peace council
So far the UK government has sent troops (now withdrawn) to train the Ukrainian army, and supplied them with defensive weapons. The UK's defence secretary has also warned that we need to be prepared for a war. In his first major speech on defence, Grant Shapps said the country was moving from a "post war to a pre-war world". Before the war, it was expected that one of the first lines of attack from Russia in any conflict would be a major cyber assault, both on Russia's opposing combatant, and potentially on its allies. So far, that has yet to happen, with relatively few reported cyber attacks linked to Russia in the last few months.
Also, bear in mind there is an information war going on with both sides trying to intimidate the other. Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeated that over the weekend, saying Ukraine is not a part of NATO and therefore not entitled to NATO's one for all, all for one protection. He says he is doing it because the break up of the Soviet Union was the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 21st century for the Russian people. And he has written extensively about how Russians and Ukrainians are one people.
Russia Moving Closer To War In Ukraine, Minister Warns
The latest versions of those weapons includes the NLAWs (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapons) and Javelins. Tanks and troops have poured into Ukraine at points along its eastern, southern and northern borders, Ukraine says. The UK government is providing a range of economic, humanitarian and defensive military assistance to Ukraine, and is imposing additional sanctions on Russia and Belarus. Peter Ricketts, the UK’s former national security adviser, joined us to discuss the Ukraine crisis. But we now see more clearly that, in a crisis, for the foreseeable future UK interests are aligned with the US and Europe, especially if China aligns itself more with Russia. The revival of NATO’s purpose and a unified western response have been a necessary if painful reminder of where UK interests truly lie.
- Russian forces struck the settlement of Maly Burluk on 17 January with an aerial bomb, Synegubov said.
- Even during the London Blitz in 1941, nearly 5,000 looting cases came before the Old Bailey.
- Much of the fighting appears to be centred around the east of the country.
- Madame Chair, last but not least I also wanted to highlight today the UK’s continued concern for our three OSCE colleagues of the Special Monitoring Mission detained by Russia.
The danger, however, with sanctions is they push Moscow further away from the West and towards the East, meaning Mr Putin may develop yet closer relations with Beijing. There has also been pressure from opposition parties for Ofcom to strip Kremlin-backed TV channel RT of its broadcasting license. German authorities made a similar step earlier this month, but Moscow would likely retaliate by expelling UK journalists from Russia.
At least 32 people have died in Ukraine's capital in that time, 30 of them in one attack - on 29 December, when Russia launched one of the largest ever aerial attacks of this war. Balazs Orban, chief political aide to the prime minister, said Hungary sent a proposal to the EU over the weekend showing it was open to using the budget for the aid package if other "caveats" were added. Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl. Ukraine said on Friday that Russia had returned the bodies of 77 soldiers, the AFP news agency reports, days after the crash of a Russian military transport plane threw doubt on the future of such exchanges. “The two leaders will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defence of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression,” the White House said in a statement Saturday. Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed a Russian military transport plane that day, but Ukrainian officials earlier this week confirmed that a prisoner swap was due to happen on Wednesday.
- Four extra RAF Typhoon jets have been deployed to British bases in Cyprus, while patrol ship HMS Trent has joined Nato vessels in the eastern Mediterranean.
- But his remark lives on as a challenge to all policymakers thinking about whether to engage diplomatically - and even militarily - in a potential conflict between two foreign countries.
- “I put forward the UK’s point of view on the current situation as well as seeking to deter Russia from an invasion of Ukraine,” she said.
Hungary previously said it would block further financial aid to Ukraine, but this morning suggested it was ready to compromise after the EU reportedly drew up plans to hit Budapest's economy. " https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-would-happen-if-russia-launched-a-nuke-in-ukraine.html would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. A prominent war expert says the US is on the verge of lessening its support for, or even withdrawing from, NATO - with potentially catastrophic consequences for Europe. Hundreds of captured prisoners have been freed in dozens of exchanges throughout the war, but Russia’s claims that Ukraine shot down a plane ferrying Ukrainian detainees has thrown the future of such exchanges into doubt. Turkey’s parliament ratified Sweden’s Nato membership on Tuesday after more than a year of delays that upset western efforts to show resolve over Russia’s war in Ukraine. The US did not green light the transaction until Turkey’s instruments of ratification of Sweden’s membership had arrived in Washington, a US official said, highlighting the highly sensitive nature of the negotiations, AFP reports.
The war has strengthened political consensus that domestic renewables offer the cheapest and most secure form of energy. Conservative backbencher Alicia Kearns tweeted on Thursday that the Government should consider cyber attacks on Russia if Mr Putin does not withdraw troops. The UK therefore faces price rises on three fronts as a result of the invasion – oil, gas and food – at a time when inflation is already high and many are facing a cost-of-living crisis. Oil prices have also risen since the invasion, given Russia’s role as an oil producer and as a form of security for investors as the stock market slumps. The country is one of the world’s largest grain suppliers, meaning conflict is likely to cause supply problems, especially in Europe.
