rentry.co Open in urlscan Pro
51.83.3.90  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

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.



Edit
Export
Raw PDF PNG
Pub: 02 Feb 2024 08:57 UTC
Views: 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

new·what·how·langs·contacts


x