Here’s how the war will affect the UK, from potential military action to sanctions and gas prices. Ukraine has said its goal for the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country. Many analysts say Beijing in particular is looking on as it formulates its own plans to reunify Taiwan with mainland China. The fear is that if Russia is allowed to invade Ukraine unresisted, that might act as a signal to other leaders that the days of Western powers intervening in other conflicts are over. If war broke out in Ukraine and Russian forces occupied large swathes of the country, many civilians might flee. Russia might use the crisis to launch cyber and other hybrid attacks on Nato countries. Consequently, Air Vice Marshal Bell says planners need to take political and ethical landscape in which the Kremlin operates into consideration if it ever gets into a fight. The Ukraine war is providing a golden opportunity for British and NATO military planners to observe Russia fighting on the battlefield and to plan accordingly. Here, according to former Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) head Professor Michael Clarke and retired Air Vice Marshal Sean Bell, are a few of the lessons the MoD will be taking on board. Forces are on standby in eastern Europe, and Nato is working with Ukraine to modernise its forces and protect it against cyber attacks. Nato is unwilling to send troops into Ukraine itself although the UK has supplied around 2,000 anti-tank missiles to the country. This is because Nato uses a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Is UK conscription for a citizen army a realistic plan? The Democratic president said in a statement that the policies proposed would “be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country”. https://euronewstop.co.uk/how-many-troops-does-ukraine-have.html , Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called for an international investigation into the crash. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has pledged to make the findings of Moscow’s crash investigation public. One ex senior minister suggested to me that there was a generational divide between those who had lived with the threat of the Cold War era, and those who had not. The former minister, currently a serving Conservative MP, pointed out that the prime minister grew up without that existential threat. Much of the fighting appears to be centred around the east of the country. Many analysts say Beijing in particular is looking on as it formulates its own plans to reunify Taiwan with mainland China. While analysts say a direct conflict between NATO and Russia is unlikely, it is possible - particularly in the Baltic states, or Finland. Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said the prime minister did not agree with comments made by Gen Sir Patrick Sanders in a speech on Wednesday, and was forced to insist there would be no return to national service, which was abolished in 1960. But be we warriors or wimps, now is the time to start facing up to the prospect, says Ed Arnold, a European Security Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. If the West became involved in a war with Russia, it is likely to be protracted, meaning supplies would have to be maintained for potentially months or even years. Prof Clarke says the 4,000 NLAW anti-tank weapons provided to Ukraine by the UK are a good example of what can happen. Assuming both sides weren't annihilated by nuclear weapons, they assumed a Soviet invasion would lead to a war in western Europe, and trained and equipped UK forces would need to counter that threat. It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. I offer my condolences and that of the UK to all Ukrainians for the lives lost due to these barbaric airstrikes. These took place far away from the front lines of Russia’s war, in civilian populated areas. What war could mean for life in modern Britain “Unless Russia starts throwing the new forces into the battle piecemeal, then they won’t be involved in the fighting until next spring,” Adams claimed. Until now, Putin has avoided mobilising the Russian public for battle by describing his invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation”. This gave the impression that it would be an easily won offensive, as the Russians were going to “liberate” their European neighbours from their supposed “neo-Nazi” government. The threats facing Europe today are too pressing for our military to be reduced to this state. The priority must be for ministers to end the wokery and get back to the infinitely more serious business of preparing for war. As the war approaches its second anniversary, severe weapons shortages and worrying signs of waning Western support are undermining Ukraine’s war effort. There is a sense in the upper echelons of the British military that many politicians and most of the public have not grasped the threat they see. It is the duty of the military to analyse that threat, and they still might be proved wrong. But European nations closer to Russian borders appear to be taking it more seriously. Talk of wider war in Europe and the potential need for mass mobilisation or a citizen army may sound alarming. But the head of the British Army Gen Sir Patrick Sanders is not alone in issuing a national call to prepare for a major conflict on European soil. The conflict is likely to remain confined to Ukraine and Russia in terms of actual fighting. The West's bet was that the threat of sanctions would be enough to deter Russian aggression. This is a question lots of you put forward and has been tackled by our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes here... Russia's aggression towards Ukraine has already driven the price of oil close to $100 per barrel – a level that, given the current strength of demand for oil and gas, is likely to be hit in coming days. It could even send troops to the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Instead, the president still blames all of Russia’s problems on the West, claiming it wants “the disintegration” of the country. “He and his defence minister have sent tens of thousands of their own citizens to their deaths, ill equipped and badly led. Pro-war nationalists have been calling for more extreme steps to ensure Russia wins – but that’s only at one end of the spectrum. The UK’s Ministry of Defence warned the push for these referendums were “likely driven by fears of imminent Ukrainian attack and an expectation of greater security after formally becoming part of Russia”. He claimed that all these regions already have Russia’s support, and “we will do everything to ensure” the safe conduct of these so-called public votes. Nato powers are already promising to build up their own forces in the alliance's eastern flank. They're always trying to find a better way to break our air defence systems and make their attack more efficient, Oleksandr Musiyenko at Ukraine's Center for Military Legal Research told the BBC. The UK's defence secretary has also warned that we need to be prepared for a war. Media organisations have been shut down, and many journalists are now in Russian prisons. The intensity, regularity and indiscriminate nature of Russia’s attacks may violate international humanitarian law, is extremely concerning and must stop. According to reports, Russian missiles on Kyiv and Kharkiv killed at least 18 people and injured over one hundred. The devastation was felt most acutely in Kharkiv, where an apartment block was hit, killing two people, and injuring 35 residents. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said there was a very serious risk of invasion but there would be severe economic consequences, including sanctions, if Russia took that step. Russian missile strikes continue to strike population centres, with some of the most intense waves yet falling during the New Year. International affairs editor Dominic Waghorn and our team of specialist correspondents answered your questions on the Ukraine crisis in a live digital Q&A. But if Ukraine’s experience is anything to go by, the threat posed by a common enemy could have a unifying effect. Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US neuter the Western military alliance. UK ministers have warned that the Russian government will face serious consequences if there is an incursion.
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