Boris Johnson has announced the UK’s ‘first barrage’ of sanctions against Russia as tensions in Ukraine grow.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already begun, a cabinet minister said as Boris Johnson led a crisis meeting of ministers and senior officials to consider the response to Vladimir Putin’s actions.
At the 0630 meeting of the Cobra committee the Prime Minister was briefed on the latest intelligence after Mr Putin ordered his troops to carry out “peacekeeping” duties in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Prime Minister addressed MPs and the nation in Commons today after warning Putin has “gravely miscalculated” the situation.
Mr Johnson slapped sanctions on Russia as the Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador for a meeting on Tuesday amid the crisis in Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia’s ambassador Andrei Kelin had been summoned “to explain Russia’s violation of international law and disregard of Ukraine’s sovereignty”.
“We are imposing severe sanctions in response,” she added.
Mr Kelin was meeting the senior official at the Foreign Office, permanent under-secretary Sir Philip Barton.
I instructed the Permanent Under Secretary to summon the Russian Ambassador to explain Russia’s violation of international law and disregard of Ukraine’s sovereignty. ⁰⁰
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) February 22, 2022
We are imposing severe sanctions in response.
Boris Johnson accuses Putin of establishing pretext for full-scale offensive
The Prime Minister warned we must "brace ourselves" for Russia's next move after it "flagrantly violated" peace agreements.
He told the House of Commons that Russia's latest "peacekeeping" move "amounts to a renewed invasion of that country".
Mr Johnson said Russian tanks and armed personnel carriers have “since been spotted” in the breakaway regions, adding: “The House should be in no doubt that the deployment of these forces in sovereign Ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion of that country.
“And by denying Ukraine’s legitimacy as a state and presenting its very existence as a mortal threat to Russia, Putin is establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive.”
Boris Johnson announces sanctions on five Russian banks
Boris Johnson has announced sanctions against five Russian banks and three “very high net wealth” individuals under his “first barrage” of measures over the Ukrainian incursion.
Using "new and unprecedented" powers the PM imposed pre-prepared sanctions on Russia.
He announces sanctions on five Russian banks: Rossiayaz Bank, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank.
44 million men, women and children at risk
Boris Johnson told MPs: “If the worst happens then a European nation of 44 million men, women and children would become the target of a full-scale war of aggression waged without a shred of justification for the absurd and even mystical reasons that Putin described last night.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel