Following the Ukrainian invasion, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Britain will “imminently” target Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister with personal sanctions.
The Prime Minister told NATO leaders at a virtual meeting on Friday that Britain would reflect the measures announced by the EU and later the United States to target Russian leaders.
Russia “is engaged in a revanchist mission to upset the post-Cold War order,” Johnson said.
“The UK will urgently introduce sanctions against President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergeĭ Viklov in addition to the sanctions package announced yesterday,” Johnson told allies.
Johnson also urged allies to ban Russia from the SWIFT payment system. So far, the move has been resisted by President Joe Biden and other Western allies.
The UK has also announced that the ban on Aeroflot flights landing in the UK will be extended to cover Russian private jets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said sanctions have so far done nothing to thwart Russia’s onslaught.
According to Ukrainian officials, the fighting took place overnight on a street on the outskirts of the capital Kiev.
Explosions have been reported in parts of the city.
Zelensky posted a video from the capital on Saturday, proclaiming that his compatriots would not “put down their weapons.”
British Minister James Heappey said Saturday morning that Russian troops had not made the progress they had hoped for and that the main armor pillars were still a bit far from the city.
He told the BBC Breakfast that the Defender faced a fierce battle “days, weeks, months and more.”
Heapy has revealed that the Defense Ministry is working on plans to support the resistance movement and the government in exile in the event of a final runaway of Ukraine.
“It’s a decision made by the National Security Council, but the Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Defense to consider and plan for us,” he told Sky News.
Britain has already sent 2,000 anti-tank missile launchers, and Heappey said they are trying to get more weapons into the country.
“We know what the Ukrainians want. We are doing our best to bring it to them,” he said.
So far, combat in the capital has been limited to “very isolated pockets of Russian special forces and paratroopers,” he added, with the main armor columns “still a bit far apart.”
Reflecting a statement from NATO Secretary General Jason Stoltenberg, Heapey has revealed that Britain and NATO will not be involved in any military action.
Stortemberg Said On Friday, it was clear that the Kremlin’s purpose was “not limited to Ukraine.”
The allies have deployed thousands more troops to eastern member states that are afraid to become Russia’s next target, “what is needed to protect and defend all allies and every corner of NATO territory. I will do it. “
NATO has rejected a request to support the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, fearing that enforcement could lead to engagement with Russian jets and cause war across Europe.
PA contributed to this report
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Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has been reporting on the Epoch Times since 2006 on a variety of beats, from detailed coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing of the latest news.