THE Russian invasion of Ukraine "has begun", a UK Government minister has warned. 

The UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Russia has already sent tanks and troops into Ukraine signalling an invasion.

He told Sky News: "We are waking up to a very dark day in Europe.

"It's clear from what we have already seen and found out today that Russia's President Vladimir Putin has decided to attack the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity."

The UK has always said this was "unacceptable", he says.

"We've seen that he's recognised these breakaway eastern regions in Ukraine and we can already tell he's sent in tanks and troops, so I think from that you can conclude that the invasion of Ukraine has begun."

It comes after Boris Johnson held a crisis meeting of ministers and senior officials to consider the response to Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

The Government is preparing to slap sanctions on key Russian figures and businesses after President Putin recognised two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent states.

At the 0630 meeting of the Cobra committee the Prime Minister will be briefed on the latest intelligence after Mr Putin ordered his troops to carry out “peacekeeping” duty in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Herald:

The Cobra meeting follows an emergency session of the UN Security Council, where the UK’s ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward said Russia has “brought us to the brink”, warning that the country’s actions “will have severe and far-reaching consequences”.

She said an invasion would unleash “the forces of war, death and destruction” on the people of Ukraine.

“The humanitarian impact will be terrible on civilians fleeing the fighting. We know that women and children will suffer most.”

Mr Johnson later warned that Putin appears “bent on a full-scale invasion” of Ukraine, as he vowed to swiftly introduce the “first barrage” of sanctions against Russia.

The Prime Minister said on Tuesday that the Russian president had “completely torn up international law” and is seemingly intent on capturing the capital of Kyiv.

Mr Johnson’s warnings came after Moscow ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, allegedly to carry out “peacekeeping” duties.

The dramatic escalation came after Mr Putin recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Donbas as independent states.

After chairing an early morning emergency meeting of the Cobra committee, Mr Johnson said he would later reveal sanctions against entities in Russia and the Donbas.

“This is I should stress just the first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia because we expect I’m afraid that there is more Russian irrational behaviour to come,” he told broadcasters.

“I’m afraid all the evidence is that President Putin is indeed bent on a full-scale invasion of the Ukraine, the overrunning, the subjugation of an independent, sovereign European country and I think, let’s be absolutely clear, that will be absolutely catastrophic.”

Mr Johnson said that if Mr Putin continues down on the path to “encircling Kyiv itself, which is what he seems to be proposing to do, capturing the Ukrainian capital” then it is vital his efforts “should not succeed and that Putin should fail”.

He said he would set out economic sanctions that “will hit Russia very hard” and target the “economic interests that have been supporting Russia’s war machine” in the Commons later in the day, warning that they will only worsen “in the event of an invasion”.

Mr Johnson was scheduled to share calls with world leaders and will update MPs on the sanctions package at around 12.30pm.

The Prime Minister told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday evening that he would “explore sending further defensive support to Ukraine”, according to Downing Street.

Later, Mr Zelensky told his nation “we are not afraid of anyone” after Russia recognised the independence of the separatist regions.

The European Union and United States were also imposing sanctions in response to the crisis.