City will shut out Putin’s allies, vows Johnson
PM pledges sanctions and warns of Kremlin’s effort to legitimise invasion as Truss urges unity with Ukraine
BORIS JOHNSON has pledged to make it “impossible” for companies of strategic importance to the Russian state to raise finance in the City if Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine.
In a speech to the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister warned world leaders that “we should not underestimate the gravity of this moment and what is at stake”.
He said “the omens are grim”, as an invasion appeared to be “in motion”.
Mr Johnson warned that an incursion by the reported 150,000 Russian troops amassed on the border would spark a “generation of bloodshed and misery”, predicting that Ukrainians would fight and kill for the return of their freedom.
Also speaking at the gathering of world leaders, ministers and military chiefs, Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, indicated that she believed Kyiv had already made enough concessions to the Kremlin and warned that countries “need to be strong in supporting Ukraine and not selling Ukraine out with concessions on sovereignty”.
Yesterday, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, pulled out of a planned trip to Munich in order to focus on the situation in Ukraine from the UK.
Mr Johnson added: “If Russia invades its neighbour, we will sanction Russian individuals and companies of strategic importance to the Russian state, and we will make it impossible for them to raise finance on the London capital markets.”
He also repeated a pledge to “open up the Matryoshka dolls of Russian-owned companies and Russian-owned entities to find the ultimate beneficiaries within.”
Ms Truss added that being “strong” was “the only thing that Russia understands”, and said that the “severe costs” of invasion would also include “mak[ing] it harder for Russia to access sovereign debt markets.”
Theresa May, Mr Johnson’s predecessor, said the Prime Minister was “right to press the case for continued diplomacy, while preparing the most severe sanctions for Russia if Putin chooses the catastrophe of war”.
Speaking after a series of what appeared to be “false flag” events in Ukraine, the Prime Minister warned that an invasion would bring about the “destruction of a democratic state”.
“We need to prepare ourselves for the Russian playbook of deception that governs every operation of this kind,” Mr Johnson said. “There will be false claims about Ukraine. Even now there are plans being laid for staged events, spinning a web of falsehoods designed to present any Russian attack as a response to provocation.”
In a separate meeting with Egils Levits, the Latvian president, and Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s prime minister, Mr Johnson also “underscored the UK’s support for Baltic states”, No 10 said.
The Prime Minister issued the warning after Mr Putin accused Ukraine of “genocide” in separatist-controlled Donbas in the east of the country. On Friday, pro-Moscow separatists also began evacuating citizens from Donetsk and Luhansk, claiming the Kyiv government was preparing to launch an attack.
Last week, The Sunday Telegraph disclosed the Government’s fear that Mr Putin was planning a “false flag” event, an operation designed to be blamed on an opponent or enemy, as a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Asked whether he agreed with the US that the Russian leader had made up his mind to attack Kyiv, the Prime Minister told broadcasters in Munich: “I think certainly things are in motion, but the question is whether it can all be pulled back, and whether the president of Russia is still able to call this operation off.
“I think that possibility must logically still exist, and therefore I think it’s vital we have a path of dialogue.
“You just cannot see how this makes sense for Russia. Imagine the invasion of Ukraine, a country of 45 million people, the second biggest country in Europe geographically apart from Russia itself.
“You can’t hold it down. There will be a protracted, violent, bloody insurgency with the loss of life for young Russians, as well as for Ukrainians.”
Ms Truss warned that Europe faced one of its “most dangerous moments” since the 20th century, but described allies as “united” in support for the country’s right to self-determination.
Western allies have been rejecting calls by Mr Putin for a guarantee that Ukraine will never join Nato.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, accused the West of “appeasement” towards Russia.
Ms Truss said: “This is not just an issue for Europe but for the world because if a sovereign nation is able to be invaded with no consequences, that sends a signal to other aggressors.”
Her comments follow a visit to Moscow by Emmanuel Macron at which the French president appeared to suggest that the West should acknowledge Russia’s security concerns.
It prompted calls not to legitimise Moscow’s portrayal of the crisis.
France and Germany are also said to have urged Kyiv to invoke the Minsk accords, which would see Ukraine offer broad autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk, with Russia withdrawing its proxy forces in the region.
‘We need to prepare ourselves for the Russian playbook of deception that governs every operation of this kind’