If the West became involved in a war with Russia, it is likely to be protracted, meaning supplies would have to be maintained for potentially months or even years. Prof Clarke says the 4,000 NLAW anti-tank weapons provided to Ukraine by the UK are a good example of what can happen. Assuming both sides weren't annihilated by nuclear weapons, they assumed a Soviet invasion would lead to a war in western Europe, and trained and equipped UK forces would need to counter that threat. It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. I offer my condolences and that of the UK to all Ukrainians for the lives lost due to these barbaric airstrikes. These took place far away from the front lines of Russia’s war, in civilian populated areas.
True Russian cyberwarfare capabilities have proved something of a damp squib in Ukraine. Far from crippling the entire national infrastructure, the worst they are known to have done is briefly disrupt power and mobile phone networks. That, though, is partly because Ukraine had already learnt from previous Russian cyberattacks over the past decade. Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers.
How will Russia invading Ukraine affect gas prices?
Here’s how the war will affect the UK, from potential military action to sanctions and gas prices. Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country. Many analysts say Beijing in particular is looking on as it formulates its own plans to reunify Taiwan with mainland China. The fear is that if Russia is allowed to invade Ukraine unresisted, that might act as a signal to other leaders that the days of Western powers intervening in other conflicts are over. If war broke out in Ukraine and Russian forces occupied large swathes of the country, many civilians might flee. Russia might use the crisis to launch cyber and other hybrid attacks on Nato countries.
- 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.
- Russia has seized Ukrainian territory before, when it annexed Crimea in 2014, after the country overthrew their pro-Moscow president.
- 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.
- The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when.
Last week, after President Putin ordered the first Russian troops into Ukraine, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK would sanction three wealthy allies of Vladimir Putin and five Russian banks. 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”. 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.
Ukraine war: What Russia's escalating air attacks mean
It could even send troops to the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Instead, the president still blames all of Russia’s problems on the West, claiming it wants “the disintegration” of the country. “He and his defence minister have sent tens of thousands of their own citizens to their deaths, ill equipped and badly led. Pro-war nationalists have been calling for more extreme steps to ensure Russia wins – but that’s only at one end of the spectrum. The UK’s Ministry of Defence warned the push for these referendums were “likely driven by fears of imminent Ukrainian attack and an expectation of greater security after formally becoming part of Russia”. He claimed that all these regions already have Russia’s support, and “we will do everything to ensure” the safe conduct of these so-called public votes.
There have also been reports of troops landing by sea at the Black Sea port cities of Mariupol and Odesa in the south. Tanks and troops have poured into Ukraine at points along its eastern, southern and northern borders, Ukraine says. There are reports of attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country, and Russian convoys entering from all directions. The success of anti-tank systems the UK and the West has given Ukraine shows that planners' decisions to commission some weapons to counter a Soviet invasion of Europe was right. NATO believed the main threat to Western Europe came from advancing Soviet tanks and developed equipment to use against them on the battlefield. The latest versions of those weapons includes the NLAWs (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapons) and Javelins.
There is a sense in the upper echelons of the British military that many politicians and most of the public have not grasped the threat they see. It is the duty of the military to analyse that threat, and they still might be proved wrong. But European nations closer to Russian borders appear to be taking it more seriously. Talk of wider war in Europe and the potential need for mass mobilisation or a "citizen army" may sound alarming. But https://euronewstop.co.uk/where-is-turkey-in-relation-to-ukraine.html of the British Army Gen Sir Patrick Sanders is not alone in issuing a national call to prepare for a major conflict on European soil.
Boris Johnson Accuses Russia Of 'False Flag' Operation In Ukraine
The chief of general staff highlighted the example of Sweden, which has just reintroduced a form of national service as it closes in on joining Nato. Ever since, Ukraine's military has been locked in a war with Russian-backed rebels in areas of the east near Russia's borders. A large diversion of citizens to military duty would leave gaps in the workforce to be filled, be it guarding food warehouses or building trenches and bomb shelters. Retired members of essential professions – doctors, nurses, morticians, police – would be urged back into service. As in Ukraine, office techies could be in demand to operate drones on the front lines and to fend off cyberattacks.
- The Netherlands has joined the IT coalition to aid Ukraine in its war efforts, Ukraine’s defence ministry said today.
- Ukraine uses German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns to tackle incoming drones, while Soviet-era Buk systems are used against cruise missiles and US-made Patriots against hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
- 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.
- There has also been pressure from opposition parties for Ofcom to strip Kremlin-backed TV channel RT of its broadcasting license.
- A spate of Ukraine-linked attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure have reportedly led Moscow's energy ministry to propose restricting flights over energy facilities.
The conflict is likely to remain confined to Ukraine and Russia in terms of actual fighting. The West's bet was that the threat of sanctions would be enough to deter Russian aggression. This is a question lots of you put forward and has been tackled by our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes here... Russia's aggression towards Ukraine has already driven the price of oil close to $100 per barrel – a level that, given the current strength of demand for oil and gas, is likely to be hit in coming days.
- If law and order really began to break down, security forces could be authorised to use lethal force against looters; neighbourhood vigilante groups might spring up.
- As fighting intensifies, cross-Channel shipping is attacked by Russian submarines, and long-range conventional missiles strike Dover and Southampton.
- Since its illegal and unprovoked attack, over 300,000 Russian personnel have been killed or wounded.
- Responding to the claim that he was a potential Kremlin candidate to lead Ukraine, he told the Observer newspaper that the Foreign Office "seems confused".
Russian missile strikes continue to strike population centres, with some of the most intense waves yet falling during the New Year. Yet the only threat to any civilian in Ukraine continues to come from Russia. Russia continues to impede access for humanitarian organisations to the millions of people in need. It orders its weapons from the DPRK, in violation of multiple resolutions agreed in this Chamber, under this Russian Foreign Minister’s instruction. Its purchase and use of Iranian drones involves both states violating a Security Council resolution.
- Assuming both sides weren't annihilated by nuclear weapons, they assumed a Soviet invasion would lead to a war in western Europe, and trained and equipped UK forces would need to counter that threat.
- Vladimir Putin’s rambling address on Wednesday signalled the start of a new, alarming phase for the war in Ukraine.
- Carlos Del Toro, the US navy secretary, has urged the UK to “reassess” the size of its armed forces given “the threats that exist today”.
- He said the security situation in Europe was without precedent since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
In the case of the Moskva, the radar of the Neptune missile that is thought to have hit it was able to stay off for as long as possible - preventing the ship from detecting it - because, when it was fired, the Ukrainians knew where it was going to be. "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." Providing Ukraine with access to Elon Musk's Starlink system has changed the game for its forces' ability to communicate in the field. Sources have revealed that in intercepted military communications, Russian soldiers have been frantic as soon as they realise one is nearby or above them, because it means they are likely to come under accurate fire. In the Ukraine invasion, Russia initially tried to use blitzkrieg tactics, learned from the Germans in WW2, by attempting to sweep down from the border with Belarus and take Kyiv within days, as Hitler had done in Poland in the late 1930s.
- During his visit to Kyiv earlier this month, my Prime Minister announced a package of support and reaffirmed the close UK-Ukraine partnership.
- Cuts have already seen the size of the British Army fall from more than 100,000 in 2010 to around 73,000 now.
- By suggesting Ukrainian territories controlled by Russia want to join the country, Putin is still trying to paint his invasion as a defensive act in a bid to deter the west and Ukrainian forces.
- 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 intensity, regularity and indiscriminate nature of Russia’s attacks may violate international humanitarian law, is extremely concerning and must stop. According to reports, Russian missiles on Kyiv and Kharkiv killed at least 18 people and injured over one hundred. The devastation was felt most acutely in Kharkiv, where an apartment block was hit, killing two people, and injuring 35 residents.