Putin ‘highly likely’ to attack Kyiv–UK

This Maxar satellite image taken and released on February 22, 2022 shows a close-up of assembled vehicles, part of a new deployment consisting of more than 100 vehicles and dozens of troop tents/shelters, at a small airfield known as the V.D. Bolshoy Bokov aerodrome near Mazyr, southern Belarus, north of the border with Ukraine. AFP PHOTO / Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies

LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin is highly likely to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and attack Kyiv, UK foreign minister Liz Truss said Wednesday.

The UK and US have repeatedly over the last weeks cited intelligence as indicating that Russia is planning an invasion of Ukraine.

“We think it’s highly likely that he (Putin) will follow through on his plan for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine”, Truss told Sky News.

Asked if the Russian leader would move on the capital Kyiv, she said: “We think it’s highly likely that that is in his plans.”

While Putin has said he is sending troops, “we don’t yet have the full evidence that that has taken place”, Truss said, calling the current situation “ambiguous”.

Truss held frosty talks earlier this month with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced the first tranche of UK sanctions targeting five Russian banks and three billionaire oligarchs.

Truss said Wednesday that the UK needed to “retain some sanctions in the locker” and had “more individuals that we will target in the event of a full-scale invasion”.

RELATED STORIES

Putin says Russia’s interests ‘non-negotiable’

Putin recognizes Ukraine rebel regions, sends troops on what Moscow calls peacekeeping mission

Nato warns Russia readying for ‘full-scale attack’ on Ukraine

Freeze or full invasion? Scenarios for Russia in Ukraine