Minister warns of need for scepticism over Russian claims
A GOVERNMENT minister warned that Moscow’s claims should be treated sceptically after hints at a possible scaling back of the Ukraine conflict.
Policing Minister Kit Maltouse told BBC Breakfast yesterday: “There’s an awful lot of misinformation and disinformation flying around in this awful conflict.
“And we need to take care that what first appears may not in fact be the truth. Let’s hope there may well be a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible.”
He said refugees have arrived in the UK through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but said the number will not be published until “next week”.
He said 20,100 visas have been granted through the extended family route, with another 35,000 “in the process”.
An adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister remained sceptical over the Kremlin’s claims but said the invading forces do appear focused on the east of the nation now.
Markian Lubkivskyi told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We cannot believe the statements from Moscow because there’s still a lot of untruth and lies from that side.
“That’s why we understand the goal of Putin still is the whole of Ukraine. And the last information we got from the ground, a lot of attacks from the air from Ukrainian cities. That’s why I can’t say the information coming from Moscow is correct, because we see a difference.
“We can see now that the enemy is focused on the eastern part of Ukraine but we are ready for any kind of attacks in different Ukrainian places.”
Meanwhile, a Conservative former security minister suggested Nato could take some form of military action against Russia if Moscow uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Baroness Neville-Jones, a former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? said she hopes the defence alliance’s words of deterrence succeed in preventing Putin launching such an attack.
“Let’s hope that succeeds because what you then have to do, and obviously ministers are not going to say, but they are indicating that the response would be proportionate, and proportionate means it would be severe,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s possible then to go on with economic sanctions, it does have to be some kind of military response, there are a variety of responses you could take and it doesn’t have to be necessarily in Ukraine – you’ve got a very large land mass called Russia.
“Ministers are not going to indicate what they will do but I don’t think one should assume that it would just be in Ukraine.”