What does the Russian invasion of Ukraine mean for the UK

The Biden administration already has sent Ukraine $111bn in weapons, humanitarian assistance and other aid. “The two leaders will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defence of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression,” the White House said in a statement Saturday. We have also not made any explicit adjustments for the domestic consequences of international sanctions on Russian financial institutions or individuals, beyond what might be reflected in equity prices in the fiscal forecast. We do not assume these actions have a material effect on overall financial stability, lending, or investment in the UK. Since 2014, Russian-backed separatists and Ukraine's armed forces have been fighting a war in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in which more than 14,000 people have died.

  • Another potential threat could come from anti-war politicians, whom Kremlin propagandists might seek to incite.
  • After the invasion international oil prices surged by nearly $6 per barrel to more than $100, levels not seen since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, and have since passed $120.
  • With war raging in Ukraine, many fear ministers will be distracted from climate action.
  • But without political support, the mindset of a country that does not feel like it is about to go to war is unlikely to change.
  • It is called self-determination, and perhaps the most important aspect of this principle is that borders cannot be changed by invading armies.

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. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-would-happen-if-russia-launched-a-nuke-in-ukraine.html 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. Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, recently told a German newspaper "we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a Nato country one day". While he said such an attack is unlikely now, "our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible". After the invasion international oil prices surged by nearly $6 per barrel to more than $100, levels not seen since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, and have since passed $120.

News

And in a globalised world, many industries that are key in wartime rely on imports. After an uneasy peace with Ukraine, Moscow has sent forces into the Baltics, clashing with British troops based there to protect Nato’s eastern flank. The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when. One Whitehall source told the Times that the training of Ukrainian civilians on UK soil could act as a rehearsal for rapid Army expansion. He was not making a case for conscription or for an imminent call up of volunteers. Instead, he was urging Britain to prepare for a mass mobilisation of tens of thousands of people, should war break out.

  • One ex senior minister suggested to me that there was a generational divide between those who had lived with the threat of the Cold War era, and those who had not.
  • Some global wheat prices have risen by more than 40 per cent this year and food and non-alcoholic beverages comprise 11.5 per cent of the CPI basket.
  • The diminishing prospects for a deal leave congressional leaders with no clear way to approve a White House request for $110bn in emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel, immigration enforcement and national security needs.
  • An additional battlegroup of 850 troops has also begun deploying to Estonia over the past week, and 350 Royal Marines have been sent to Poland to reinforce the light cavalry squadron already stationed there.
  • Last month, the European Union paid the final instalment of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its economy afloat.
  • Right now, such scenarios tend to exercise only the minds of Ministry of Defence war-gamers and military thriller writers.

The UK is not protected from rising prices purely because it relies less on Russian gas. These LNG supplies are very sensitive to global market prices and are sold to those offering the highest price. Russia’s invasion caused international stock markets to drop dramatically, with the FTSE 100 in London falling by 3.2 per cent. Andrey Kelin told Times Radio on Friday that any measure the UK took against Moscow would be met with an equal response, but he refused to give further detail on how this could look. Moscow’s ambassador to London previously warned that the UK would be hit with “immediate retaliation” if it tried to sanction Russia. It is extremely unlikely that the UK will go to war with Russia any time soon.

Oil price jumps

A source told BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley the meeting was "tempestuous" and ended early after Ms Truss said the ambassador should be "ashamed" of Russia's behaviour in Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin had lied repeatedly. Ukrainian protesters gathered outside Downing Street on Thursday afternoon to call for more action from the UK and the international community. "Because this act of wanton and reckless aggression is an attack not just on Ukraine, it's an attack on democracy and freedom in eastern Europe and around the world."

The Russian president has intensified a crackdown on opposition since the start of his invasion of Ukraine, and this has ramped up further as the elections have approached. "A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak. "The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. But be we warriors or wimps, now is the time to start facing up to the prospect, says Ed Arnold, a European Security Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. If we took casualties at the rate the Ukrainians are taking them, the NHS would immediately be overwhelmed, and for years we’ve missed recruitment targets for the Armed Forces. Even during the London Blitz in 1941, nearly 5,000 looting cases came before the Old Bailey.

Boris Johnson Accuses Russia Of 'False Flag' Operation In Ukraine

Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden". On Tuesday, the chief of Norway’s armed forces said the country must increase defence spending in the face of a potential war with Russia within three years, following its neighbour Sweden in urging citizens to brace for conflict. Calls have recently come from senior figures on both sides of the Atlantic for the UK to be prepared in case of a potential war between Nato forces and Russia.

  • So far, that has yet to happen, with relatively few reported cyber attacks linked to Russia in the last few months.
  • The Ukrainian armed forces said they had shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter - which Russia denies - and inflicted casualties on invading troops.
  • Some bars and restaurants in Kyiv were offering free drinks to anyone who had a UK passport.
  • It is the duty of the military to analyse that threat, and they still might be proved wrong.

He said he was launching a “special military operation” in the east of the country. 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. Some migrants might stay in neighbouring Poland and eastern European countries, but some might head further west and eventually end up in the UK.

  • Satellite imagery suggests Russia is sending troops towards its border with Ukraine.
  • A Russian team shot and killed a brother and sister from the Khotin community of the Sumy oblast this morning, the regional military administration said.
  • It has cut diplomatic ties with Russia, offered weapons to anyone who wants them and declared an overnight curfew for Kyiv.
  • During his visit to Kyiv earlier this month, my Prime Minister announced a package of support and reaffirmed the close UK-Ukraine partnership.
  • While climate change is often deemed a "threat multiplier", it is clear from the last week "that fossil fuels are a threat multiplier too", she said.
  • As fighting intensifies, cross-Channel shipping is attacked by Russian submarines, and long-range conventional missiles strike Dover and Southampton.

If Ukraine was part of Nato, the military alliance which is made up of 30 member states, including the US and UK, every Nato nation would have to launch an armed attack against Russia. Russia might use the crisis to launch cyber and other hybrid attacks on Nato countries. It could even send troops to the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. After 2,000 anti-tank weapons were delivered last week and 30 British troops arrived to teach Ukrainian forces how to use them, the phrase "God Save the Queen" began trending on Twitter in Ukraine.

what does the ukraine invasion mean for the uk

Edit
Pub: 02 Feb 2024 08:57 UTC
Views: 86