Boris Johnson is mounting another diplomatic mission to rally support against Russia today as he warned Vladimir Putin’s aggression ‘must fail’.
As Ukraine continues to resist invading forces, the PM is visiting nearby Poland and Estonia – where UK troops are based – vowing to exert ‘maximum pressure’ on the Kremlin.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will also say Putin has ‘blood on his hands’ and urge the West to ‘isolate’ him further when she addresses the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The ministerial trips come as the UK ratcheted up sanctions again, pledging to hit more Russian banks banning Russian-linked ships from ports.
In a round of interviews this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab warned Putin could resort to ‘even more barbaric tactics’ as his campaign stalls, and insisted any war crimes must be pursued.
In a call with world leaders from the G7, Nato and the EU last night, Mr Johnson stressed the need for allies to continue to provide Kiev with defensive weapons.
He also said neighbouring countries will require support to deal with ‘large numbers of Ukrainians escaping violence’.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is said to be providing the PM with a ‘shopping list’ of military gear to fight the Russian advance in near-daily phone calls.
As Ukraine continues to resist Vladimir Putin’s (left) invading forces, Boris Johnson (right) is visiting nearby Poland and Estonia – where UK troops are based – vowing to exert ‘maximum pressure’ on the Kremlin
A charred military vehicle near the town of Bucha not far from the Ukraine capital yesterday
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured in the Commons yesterday) will say Putin has ‘blood on his hands’ and urge the West to ‘isolate’ him further when she addresses the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
Mr Johnson is scheduled to meet with Warsaw and Tallinn leaders and visit British troops serving in Estonia, which shares a border with Russia, on his trip today.
Speaking before his visit to the two Nato members, Mr Johnson said: ‘Alongside all our international allies the UK will continue to bring maximum pressure to bear on Putin’s regime to ensure he feels the consequences of his actions in Ukraine.
‘We speak with one voice when we say, Putin must fail.’
Officials said Mr Johnson will meet Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki before travelling on to Estonia, where he will hold talks with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
They will jointly visit British troops serving ‘on the front line of Russian aggression’ in Tapa, No 10 said, before meetings with Estonian PM Kaja Kallas and Estonian President Alar Karis to discuss security.
Mr Raab told Sky News: ‘Those that engage in war crimes will be held to account.’
He said it must be clear to ‘both to Putin but also to commanders in Moscow and on the ground in Ukraine that they will be held accountable for any violations of the laws of war’.
Voicing alarm at the prospects for escalation, Mr Raab said: ‘We know that Putin will react to this, or we fear that he will react to this, with even more barbaric tactics, that’s why we must be prepared that this could be a long haul.
The former foreign secretary added: ‘This is turning into a much, much more perilous misadventure for Putin than I think he realised and it has a demoralised effect on Russia forces and it has had the effect of steeling the will of the Ukrainian people.
‘That’s how we will ensure Putin fails in Ukraine and we’re there for the long haul.’
Meanwhile, Ms Truss is expected to tell the UNHRC that Mr Putin has ‘blood on his hands’ and has been ‘murdering Ukrainians indiscriminately’.
‘Putin is violating international law… he is violating human rights on an industrial scale and the world will not stand for it,’ Ms Truss is expected to say in a speech urging the West to ‘isolate’ Russia as a result of the war it has instigated.
Britain’s UN ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward told an emergency meeting of the Security Council last night that Ukraine is on the brink of a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’.
As Russia continues its assault on the eastern European country, Dame Barbara was among those at the UN to accuse the Kremlin of launching ‘indiscriminate attacks against men, women and children’ and violating international humanitarian law.
She said: ‘As a result of President Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a country of 44 million people is now on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe.
‘Missiles have rained down on Kharkiv, with cluster munitions hitting residential areas and injuring residents. Disruption to supply chains has caused food shortages in Kramatorsk.
‘The reckless bombing of an oil depot in Vasylkiv, has unleashed toxic fumes in nearby communities.
‘Violence in Kyiv has forced people to seek refuge underground, with many thousands, including the elderly and disabled, unable to evacuate.’
The UK permanent representative to the UN told the Security Council that ‘hundreds of civilians had been killed as a result of the Russian invasion’ and seven million people had been displaced, with the figure ‘rising exponentially’.
Ukraine’s representative, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told the council that Kyiv was ‘sitting within Russian crosshairs right now’ and that 352 people, including 16 children, had been killed as of Monday in the fighting.
He accused Moscow troops of attacking hospitals and ambulances in a determination to ‘kill civilians’, adding: ‘There is no debate. These are war crimes.’
But Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian UN permanent representative, said his country’s armed forces did ‘not have the goal of occupying Ukraine or harming the local population’.
resident Volodymyr Zelensky is said to be providing the PM with a ‘shopping list’ of military gear to fight the Russian advance in near-daily phone calls
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he plans to open an investigation ‘as rapidly as possible’ into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky echoed Mr Kyslytsya’s statements in an address late last night. In a video posted to social media, the leader said that in five days Russian forces had launched 56 missile strikes and 113 cruise missiles in Ukraine.
He added: ‘Today, Russian forces brutally fired on Kharkiv from jet artillery. It was clearly a war crime.
‘Kharkiv is a peaceful city, there are peaceful residential areas, no military facilities. Dozens of eyewitness accounts prove that this is not a single false volley, but deliberate destruction of people: the Russians knew where they were shooting.’
‘There will definitely be an international tribunal for this crime — it’s a violation of all conventions. No one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful Ukrainian people,’ he said.
