UK says military intervention in Ukraine “highly unlikely”

It is “highly unlikely” that London and its allies will intervene militarily in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the defense minister said. United Kingdom, Ben Wallace.

Ukraine “is not a member of NATO, so it is highly unlikely that troops will be sent to Ukraine to confront Russia,” the minister said in a video interview released Thursday on the page of the British weekly The Spectator.

“We must not make people believe that we would. Ukrainians are very aware of this, ”he added, while US President Joe Biden has already rejected the military option.

However, “there are certainly severe, serious and long-lasting economic sanctions that could be adopted,” said the British Defense Secretary.

During a telephone interview with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the UK would use “all its diplomatic and economic powers” to prevent any Russian “aggression” against Ukraine, according to the government.

London repeatedly warned Moscow, including on a call Monday between Johnson and Vladimir Putin, that any foray into Ukraine would be a “strategic mistake.”

According to Ben Wallace, “the Russian military reinforcement has a clear objective.” “We are not sure that he (Vladimir Putin) made a decision, but his actions and military preparations go in this direction … I think we should all be concerned,” he added.

Western countries have accused Russia for several weeks of having concentrated thousands of soldiers near the Ukrainian borders to prepare an attack.

Russia rejects all the accusations and assures instead that it is under threat from NATO, which, according to Moscow, supports Ukraine militarily.

Opposed to any expansion of the Atlantic Alliance, to which Ukraine and Georgia are candidates, Russia unveiled on Friday its proposals to drastically limit the influence of the United States and NATO in its area of ​​influence.

Washington said it is willing to discuss Russia’s security proposals even though it knows “that some things in that document are unacceptable,” a senior US official said.

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