UK ‘would help Nordic nations fight the Russians’
PM pledges to send British troops to Finland or Sweden to repel invasion as he signs defence pact
BRITISH soldiers would be sent to Sweden and Finland if Russia invaded, Boris Johnson said yesterday as he sealed mutual defence pacts with the Nordic nations to strengthen opposition to Vladimir Putin.
The Prime Minister suggested troops could be sent even if the two countries do not join Nato as he gave his public support for expanding the military alliance to further contain Russia.
The defence pacts, signed during Mr Johnson’s visit to both nations yesterday, are a warning shot to Moscow in case it is tempted to invade the two countries before they are expected to join Nato.
Sweden and Finland have sent weapons and aid to Ukraine, but are not Nato members and not covered by the alliance’s Article 5, which guarantees that a declaration of war on one member is one on all.
“We have been forced to discuss how best to fortify our shared defences against the empty conceit of a 21st-century tyrant,” said Mr Johnson, who also offered to deploy more British air, land and sea forces in the region.
Asked at a press conference alongside Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish president, if there would be “British boots on the ground” during a possible conflict with Russia, Mr Johnson said: “Yes, we will come to each other’s assistance, including with military assistance.”
Mr Niinisto told Mr Putin to “look in the mirror” if he wondered why Finland might join Nato. “You caused this,” he said. Mr Niinisto is expected to approve his country’s application today.
Sweden has been non-aligned for more than 200 years, while Finland became neutral after the Second World War. Sweden is also said to be considering a formal application to become part of Nato, and both countries are expected to join relatively quickly if they apply.
Their accession would strengthen Nato’s position with Russia. The Daily Telegraph understands that Nato leaders are drawing up a 10-year plan with a Cold War-era policy of “containment” of Russia at the heart of it.
Finland and Sweden have modern, well-equipped armies. Sweden has one of the largest and best air forces in western Europe. It spends 5 per cent of GDP every year to equip and maintain its armed forces, more than Nato’s defence spending targets.
National conscription is mandatory for all males in Finland and it boasts about 900,000 reservists as well as a powerful navy. It has an 810-mile border with Russia that could stretch Russian deployments.
Mr Putin had demanded assurances that neither country would join Nato before his invasion of Ukraine.
The pacts were signed as Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said Ukraine would feel the aftermath of Russia’s war “for 100 years” because of unexploded bombs littering cities.
Kyiv said Russian troops retreated behind their own borders after Ukrainian counter-attacks in the east.
Meanwhile, collaborators in Kherson will ask Mr Putin to annex the southern region. Elsewhere, Russia’s defence ministry made wild accusations that Joe Biden, the US president, had overseen military biological testing in Ukraine.
Asked if the new security pacts meant the UK would use its nuclear weapons to defend Sweden, Mr Johnson said: “That’s something we don’t generally comment upon. But what I made clear, is that it’s up to either party to make a request, and we take it very seriously.”
He said: “What we are saying emphatically is that in the event of an attack upon Sweden the UK would come to the assistance of Sweden with whatever Sweden requested.”
Magdalena Andersson, the prime minister of Sweden, said: “President Putin thought he could cause division, but he has achieved the opposite.”
The pacts mean joint military training and deployments will be stepped up, and intelligence sharing intensified.
UKRAINE will feel the aftermath of Russia’s invasion “for 100 years”, the German Chancellor warned, as western leaders prepared to drive a wedge between themselves and Moscow.
Olaf Scholz yesterday said the postwar rebuild would be plagued for a century by unexploded ordnance littering Ukrainian cities.
He said: “Those who live in Germany know that bombs from [the Second World War] are still frequently discovered. Ukraine should brace itself for battle with the consequences of this war for 100 years. That is why we will also have to work together on the reconstruction.”
The German chancellor’s warning came as Boris Johnson signalled relations with Vladimir Putin “could never be normalised” after his invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister was one of the western politicians seeking to leave the Kremlin isolated as it prepares for a long, protracted conflict.
In Washington, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, was under pressure to declare Russia a state sponsor of terror in condemnation of the Russian president’s war.
The Daily Telegraph understands Nato leaders will put Cold War-era “containment” at the heart of plans to deal with Moscow in decades to come.
Mr Johnson made his intervention while on a one-day tour of both Sweden and Finland, during which he offered the two Nordic nations security assurances while they apply to join the military alliance.
After the Prime Minister’s talks with Magdalena Andersson, his Swedish counterpart, a No10 spokesman said: “The leaders agreed that the aftershocks of Putin’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine had fundamentally changed international security architecture.
“They underlined that relations with Putin could never be normalised.”
This was echoed by a resolution tabled in the US Senate for Russia to be added to a list of despot nations, alongside North Korea, Syria, Iran and Cuba.
The resolution, tabled by senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, came in support of Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, who called for the world to acknowledge Russia as a terrorist state.
Their document read: “At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the Russian Federation has and continues to promote acts of international terrorism against political opponents and nation states.”
It called out the Kremlin leader for the series of war crimes committed by his forces in Ukraine and their attempts to cover-up the atrocities.
The moves to cast out Moscow come alongside mounting international scepticism that the conflict, which enters its 78th day today, can be resolved through diplomacy.
While visiting Vienna, Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, played down the prospect of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia happening soon. The humanitarian chief also said the ongoing conflict threatens to become an international hunger crisis.
At a news conference with Alexander Van der Bellen, the Austrian president, Mr Guterres said: “This war will not last forever. There will be a time when peace negotiations will take place.
“I do not see that in the immediate future. But I can say one thing. We will never give up.”
Ukraine was the sixth-largest exporter of wheat in 2021, with a 10 per cent share of the global market, according to the UN, as well as one of the world’s top exports of barley and sunflower seeds.
The Global Hunger Index said every second to third piece of bread in Africa and the Middle East is produced with Ukrainian wheat.
Much of Ukraine’s exports are stuck in the Black Sea port of Odesa, which is just one of the shipping facilities being blockaded by the Russians.
Mr Guterres said he was “deeply concerned, namely with the risks of hunger becoming widespread in different parts of the world because of the dramatic food security situation we are facing because of the war in Ukraine”.
The EU is set to announce a package of measures today to assist Ukraine get around the Russian blockade. Brussels will organise “special corridors” to help Ukraine ship wheat and corn to the bloc via road and rail.
European officials were also pondering plans to help finance the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and assist with its current monetary woes.
The European Commission could act as a guarantor for a £12billion loan over three months to help Kyiv to pay salaries and benefits. In the long term, the bloc could move to wrack up joint debt amongst its member states to finance the long-term reconstruction.
Kyiv has estimated the impact of the war could reach £456 billion, including indirect losses suffered as a result of the Russian invasion.
Separate talks over a proposed EU ban on the import of Russian oil moved closer to a deal as a potential compensation package was floated to Hungary, which has threatened to veto the plans.
The commission is expected to suggest that Budapest’s transition away from Russian oil is financed partially by a “Repower” scheme as part of a “plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030”.