US to station nuclear weapons in UK to counter war threat from Russia

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is understood to have increased the size of the sanctions team at the foreign office in recent months. Mr Rotenberg is currently listed under EU sanctions related to "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine". He said he "strongly suspected" that the government had not "given sufficient resources" to those who were responsible for identifying sanctions targets.

But Labour has accused the government of being too slow to target others as Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalates. The UK government is facing growing calls to move faster on sanctions on wealthy individuals allegedly linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Of course, for all the lessons that planners can learn from Ukraine, they will only be valuable if Russia continues to act in a similar way, should it ever become embroiled in a conflict with the West. "We think, in orbit… they're using some of their things as ASATS (anti-satellite weapons). Actually, just colliding with them, we can't prove that. And they may be able to disable some of them electronically as well."

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GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) urged UK businesses and organisations to “bolster their online defences”, warning that there has been a “historical pattern of cyber attacks on Ukraine with international consequences”. The government has already announced a package of sanctions against Russia, targeting Kremlin-linked billionaires, banks and companies. However, those sanctions are “now expected to be significantly expanded”, said The Times. It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. In response to Gen Sir Patrick speech the UK prime minister's spokesman said hypothetical scenarios of a future potential conflict were not helpful and ruled out any move towards a conscription model for the Army. Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a Pentagon review of the US’s nuclear posture said it served as a “stark reminder of nuclear risk in contemporary conflict” and warned of “nuclear threats to the homeland and US allies and partners”.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been serving prison time since 2021 after leading street protests and starting a nationwide opposition movement, was recently moved to a penal colony in Russia's far north. Meanwhile, Indian thinktank Observer Research Foundation's Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign "any major military deal" with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US. "The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. However, he warned of "chaos" if European states do not show enough unity and determination. He says Europe is rich enough to do so if it has the political will, pointing to a recent report from the Estonian Ministry of Defence suggesting that committing 0.25% of GDP annually towards Ukraine would provide "more than sufficient resources".

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The British public will be called up to fight if the UK goes to war because the military is too small, the head of the Army is to warn. He points out that our digital networks are mainly cellular in structure, making it almost impossible to wipe them all at once. Britain has also allowed ammunition supplies to dwindle to “dangerously low levels,” according to a Parliamentary Defence Committee report.

• With a grave humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine, some fear the war will distract from climate action.
• "Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve. But this is not enough," he said, as he also called for more to be done to modernise and equip the armed forces.
• He said the UK and allies will launch a "massive package" of sanctions to "hobble" Russia's economy.
• Despite warnings from the US and its Nato allies that any invasion by Russia of Ukraine would have "severe economic consequences," Moscow's military build-up on the border continues.

In terms of military aid, the UK has trained 22,000 Ukrainian troops under Operation Orbital since 2015, supporting both Ukraine’s army and navy. The UK has been vocal in its support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, providing  military aid and announcing sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs. The foreign secretary also warned last week that harsh UK sanctions could have far-reaching consequences.

The latest versions of those weapons includes the NLAWs (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapons) and Javelins. Air Vice Marshal Bell says the other reason the attack on the Moskva was successful was because it had been manoeuvring in a way that left it vulnerable to attack. Now, the threat of an encounter with Russia - regarded as a military peer - is very present and it is arguable the British and other allied forces are not yet equipped for that. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Mr Putin of "bringing war back to Europe" and warned a raft of "massive" sanctions would be proposed later aimed at Russia's economic base and its "capacity to modernise". Writing on Twitter, he added the US and its allies and partners would impose "severe sanctions on Russia" and continue to provide support to Ukraine and its people. Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the defence select committee, said the West had failed to alter the trajectory of the Russian invasion.

• Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a "catastrophe for our continent", Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
• Defending the government's response, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab rejected suggestions the UK had been slow in imposing sanctions against Russia.
• Nato powers are already promising to build up their own forces in the alliance's eastern flank.

He added that “whatever reaction will come from the Kremlin, will be a collective reaction to a collective of states that have conducted the sanctions”, meaning Russia’s response is likely to collectively target the UK, US and European Nato allies. Moscow’s ambassador to London previously warned that the UK would be hit with “immediate retaliation” if it tried to sanction Russia. If President Putin decides to extend his attacks beyond Russia and into a neighbouring Nato state, such as Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, then the UK would be bound to go to war with Russia. 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.

Providing Ukraine with access to Elon Musk's Starlink system has changed the game for its forces' ability to communicate in the field. Sources have revealed that in intercepted military communications, Russian soldiers have been frantic as soon as they realise one is nearby or above them, because it means they are likely to come under accurate fire. In the Ukraine invasion, Russia initially tried to use blitzkrieg tactics, learned from the Germans in WW2, by attempting to sweep down from the border with Belarus and take Kyiv within days, as Hitler had done in Poland in the late 1930s. "24 February showed that… Russia is now a manifest threat and will be for as long as Putin is in power and probably his successor as well. It is THE problem of European stability and security."

Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, the UK has sanctioned around 183 individuals under the Russia sanctions regime. In fact Johnson emphasised that this problem affects the whole of the continent, by describing Russia’s intimidation tactics as Europe’s “biggest security crisis” for decades.  https://euronewstop.co.uk/why-is-russia-invading-ukraine-newsround.html  wants the opposite – it aspires to be part of the EU and Nato (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) rather than under Russia’s control and so is firmly resisting Putin’s threats. Russian president Vladimir Putin wants  to assert his power over the neighbouring country of Ukraine because he believes they should both be under the same sphere of influence, as they were both part of the Soviet Union in the 20th Century.

Many analysts fear war in Ukraine could potentially spill over into other European countries. But both of these demands would break key Nato principles, namely that the alliance should be open to any European country that wants to join and that all Nato members should be sovereign nations. It is called self-determination, and perhaps the most important aspect of this principle is that borders cannot be changed by invading armies. The former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has long been criticised for describing Germany's attempted annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1938 as "a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing".

• Unredacted documents on the US department of defence’s procurement database reveal plans for a “nuclear mission” that will take place “imminently” at RAF Lakenheath, where nuclear weapons were stationed during the Cold War.
• Mr Putin has accused the West of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from joining the western Nato military alliance and offer Moscow security guarantees.
• He has not been the only one to criticise cuts, with former CGS General Lord Dannatt saying the UK risked a repeat of the 1930s unless it invested more in its armed forces last week.
• "We live in an unstable world. If rich counties fail to support vulnerable countries in tackling climate impacts and in their clean energy transition, it will only fuel a spiral of instability."
• In the Ukraine invasion, Russia initially tried to use blitzkrieg tactics, learned from the Germans in WW2, by attempting to sweep down from the border with Belarus and take Kyiv within days, as Hitler had done in Poland in the late 1930s.
• But the House speaker, Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the legislation would be “dead on arrival in the House” in its current form, according to a letter to Republican lawmakers.

It could even send troops to the three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. After 2,000 anti-tank weapons were delivered last week and 30 British troops arrived to teach Ukrainian forces how to use them, the phrase "God Save the Queen" began trending on Twitter in Ukraine. Some bars and restaurants in Kyiv were offering free drinks to anyone who had a UK passport.

Joe Biden will host the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at the White House on 9 February to discuss aid to Ukraine. This comes as the US president has been pressing Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures with aid for Ukraine. Some Republicans have set a deal on border security as a condition for further Ukraine aid. Even if cyberattacks didn’t wipe out Netflix, wartime Britons would still face a life without luxuries. While the Channel has long been the country’s greatest defence, it makes it hard to import in times of war. As well as curbs on foreign consumer goods, there’d be runs on more basic products like medical kits, fuel canisters and masking tape to stop windows shattering during bombing raids.