PM: We'll Act The First Moment A Russian Toecap Enters Ukraine

Boris Johnson has issued a stark warning to Vladimir Putin that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a “military disaster”.

- Macer Hall

Even a “toecap” incursion would warrant a response, the Prime Minister said in Kiev last night.

He also made it clear the Kremlin risked triggering severe diplomatic and economic sanctions by the UK and allies and was effectively “holding a gun to the head of Ukraine”.

Mr Johnson said: “We are preparing a package of sanctions and measures to be enacted the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.

“We have done all this not as a show of hostility towards Russia, but as a demonstration we will always stand up for freedom and democracy and Ukrainian sovereignty in the face of aggression.

“It is vital Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy. I believe that is still possible.”

Mr Johnson’s diplomatic dash to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky was to intensify efforts in negotiating a solution to the Eastern European stand-off.

It came as Putin refused to withdraw more than 100,000 troops including heavy armoured divisions massed at the border with Ukraine.