A Russian invasion of Ukraine “could be a new Chechnya”, says Boris Johnson

To invade Ukraine would sink to Russia in a “violent and bloody” conflict, which would be equivalent to creating “a new Chechnya”, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus that has been the scene of interventions by the Russian army, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday.

“We have to convey the message that invading Ukraine, from the Russian point of view, it will be painful, violent and bloody, and I think it is very important that people in Russia understand that this could be a new Chechnya”said the Conservative leader on British television.

“I know that town a little and I think they are going to fight”, he added.

Chechnya, republic of the Russian Caucasus, experienced two bloody conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s that pitted pro-independence groups, and later Islamists, against the Russian army.

These conflicts left tens of thousands dead and the second chechen war, from 1999 to 2009, was marked by indiscriminate bombing of its capital, Grozny.

The United Kingdom, which recently sold missiles to the Ukrainian authorities, accuses Russia of “trying to install a pro-Russian leader in Kiev”, accusations that Moscow dismissed as “absurd”.

On Monday morning, London announced the repatriation of some of its diplomatic staff in Ukraine in the face of the “growing threat” from Russia.

“The intelligence information is very clear, there are groups of Russian fighters on the borders of Ukraine and the whole world can see that there is a blitzkrieg project that could lead to the taking of Kiev”Johnson stated.

“We have to make it clear to the Kremlin and to Russia that this would be a disaster,” stressed.

However, the British leader considered that a Russian invasion is “not at all inevitable”. “I believe that common sense can prevail”, assured.

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