By Russian Invasion: Is war inevitable?
Over the past few weeks tensions have been rising as everyone questions if and when Russia will invade Ukraine and what this means for the rest of the world.
British nationals in Ukraine are currently being told to leave the country now while commercial means are still available.
The UK Foreign Office’s warning came as the US said that Russia could invade “any day now” and told its own citizens to leave in the next 48 hours.
Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite having more than 100,000 troops near the border.
Boris Johnson said he feared for the security of Europe as he joined a call of world leaders on Friday.
Mr Johnson urged allies to have a “heavy package of economic sanctions ready to go” should Russia make the “devastating and destructive decision” to invade Ukraine, Downing Street said.
Armed forces minister James Heappey said the advice to Britons in Ukraine had changed because Russia was at a stage where it could attack “at no notice”.
Mr Heappey told BBC Breakfast: “We are now confident that the artillery systems, the missile systems and the combat air are all in place that would allow Russia to launch – at no notice – an attack on Ukraine.”
On Friday the White House said that an invasion could start with aerial bombing that would make departures difficult and endanger civilians.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Russian forces were now “in a position to be able to mount a major military action” in remarks seen as a clear escalation in the urgency of warnings from US officials.
“We obviously cannot predict the future, we don’t know exactly what is going to happen, but the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that [leaving] is prudent,” he said.
On Friday, the US president hosted a video call with transatlantic leaders in which they agreed on co-ordinated action to inflict severe economic consequences on Russia if it invaded Ukraine.
The US also said it was deploying a further 3,000 troops from Fort Bragg to Poland, and that they were expected to arrive there next week.
These troops will not fight in Ukraine, but will ensure the defence of US allies.
This increase in action from both Russia and NATO allies is creating the narrative that war may now be inevitable if and when Russia decides to invade Ukraine.
Do you think war is coming? Let us know in the comments
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