Boris Johnson to visit Poland as more UK troops go on standby for eastern Europe
In trip to Moscow, Liz Truss will urge Russian foreign secretary to end aggressive stance on border
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson is to hold talks on the Ukraine crisis with Nato’s secretary general on Thursday before flying to Poland on a trip designed to reassure eastern European allies about the UK’s support in the face of Russian aggression.
His visit comes hours after Downing Street announced one thousand British troops are being put on standby in case of a humanitarian crisis in eastern Europe if the current Russian military build-up leads to war.
Some 350 Royal Marines from 45 Commando are also to begin deploying to Poland as part of a further strengthening of UK support to the country announced earlier this week.
Meanwhile Liz Truss will become the first British foreign secretary in more than four years to visit Russia, where she will tell counterpart Sergey Lavrov that it is time for Moscow to call off its build-up of troops near the border with Ukraine.
The Polish foreign ministry in Warsaw indicated that Mr Johnson will on Thursday meet prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and president Andrzej Duda, and is also expected to visit British troops in the country.
And Nato announced that the PM will hold talks with secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at its Brussels HQ ahead of a joint press conference early on Thursday morning. Labour said that leader Sir Keir Starmer will also meet Mr Stoltenberg in Brussels later in the day.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, is also expected to visit Moscow this week as part of the high-level international push to resolve the crisis.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Truss said: “The UK is determined to stand up for freedom and democracy in Ukraine.
“I’m visiting Moscow to urge Russia to pursue a diplomatic solution and make clear that another Russian invasion of a sovereign state would bring massive consequences for all involved.
“Russia should be in no doubt about the strength of our response. We have said many times that any further invasion would incur severe costs, including through a coordinated package of sanctions.
“Russia has a choice here. We strongly encourage them to engage, de-escalate and choose the path of diplomacy.”
The UK is prepared to impose what Ms Truss has branded “the toughest sanctions regime against Russia we have ever had” if there is an invasion of Ukraine, targeting those closest to the Kremlin.
Russia’s ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, said Moscow was only interested in talking with Britain if it had constructive proposals to the Kremlin’s security demands, which include a formal veto on Ukraine ever joining Nato.
Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, Mr Kelin said: “If they’re coming to Russia to threaten us again with sanctions then it is fairly pointless: we read everything, see everything, know and hear. In this case, the dialogue and conversation in Moscow will be probably fairly short.”
The British visits form part of an intensive period of diplomatic contacts as the international community attempts to defuse tensions around Ukraine.
Mr Johnson held talks with Lithuanian PM Ingrida Simonyte in Downing Street and a call with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte on Tuesday.
Moscow has insisted it has no plans to invade Ukraine but President Vladimir Putin has raised concerns about Nato expansion in eastern Europe.
Russia is set to launch the active phase of vast military drills in Belarus on Thursday, which are expected to involve 30,000 troops and create a new front to trouble Ukraine.
Top Russian military commanders, including the chief of the armed forces, flew to Belarus on Wednesday ahead of the exercise.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was conducting the joint exercise with Belarus to confront “unprecedented security menaces”. Six Russian amphibious landing ships with tanks and troops have also assembled in the Black Sea as part of a build-up of forces.
Japan has diverted some of its gas reserves to Europe over concerns that Russia might use its natural gas supply as a tool to apply political pressure on the continent.
The US and EU requested support from Japan to counter the threat of Europe being cut off by its largest supplier.
Meanwhile, US troops relocating from Germany to Nato’s eastern border in Romania were set to reach the country on Wednesday night.
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