What does the Ukraine war mean for the UK? How Russia invasion and Putin sanctions can affect life in UK

Andrey Kelin told Times Radio on Friday that any measure the UK took against Moscow would be met with an equal response, but he refused to give further detail on how this could look. The Foreign Office said that the banks being targeted had bankrolled the Russian occupation of Crimea from 2014. The individuals concerned are Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg, and Igor Rotenberg, all oligarchs who Mr Johnson described as “cronies” of the Russian president. Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Ban are the banks in question. Russia’s actions have drawn widespread condemnation from the West, including from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who addressed the UK with a televised statement on Thursday. She has advised Estonians to stay calm and says there is no threat currently on Estonian borders.

The UK has been vocal in its support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, providing military aid and announcing sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs. After the invasion international oil prices surged by nearly $6 per barrel to more than $100, levels not seen since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, and have since passed $120. Russia has denied plans for military action, but an estimated 100,000 troops have amassed on the border.  https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-is-a-vacuum-bomb-ukraine.html  said the UK was "leading on creating a package of economic sanctions" against Russia and was supplying defensive weaponry to Ukraine. For years, since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the belief was that Western armed forces would only ever have to take part in what was known as 'expeditionary' wars. These are conflicts involving a strong military force going into a situation in which it has superiority, so it can win easily - for example the Gulf and Iraq wars and conflicts in Sierra Leone and Kosovo.

The idea is that when borrowing is more expensive, people will have less money to spend. Both countries, once dubbed "the breadbasket of Europe", export about a quarter of the world's wheat and half of its sunflower products, like seeds and oil. Meanwhile, the US is discussing a potential ban on buying Russian energy which has also fuelled price rises.

Foreign Office resource has been redirected to deal with the crisis

A source told BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley the meeting was "tempestuous" and ended early after Ms Truss said the ambassador should be "ashamed" of Russia's behaviour in Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin had lied repeatedly. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss summoned Russia's ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, for the second time this week to ask him to explain the "illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine". Ukraine has imposed martial law across the country, meaning the military has taken control temporarily, and traffic jams have built up as people attempt to flee Kyiv. Russian military vehicles are reported to have breached Ukraine's border in a number of places, in the north, south and east, including from Belarus.

In Russia, all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 27 have to complete 12 months of military service. While the UK has left its conscription days behind, there are still a large number of nations that make it mandatory for their citizens to serve their country. Although it is unlikely that conscription will be enforced in the UK – it is possible that women could get drafted, too. Police officers, medical personnel, prison workers, students, government employees and ministers of any religion were exempt. The second conscription period happened during and after the Second World War between 1939 and 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963. As the clouds of geopolitical tension gather over Britain and Russia, whispers of war are growing louder.

Invasion of Ukraine

In 1994, the UK - along with the US - signed a memorandum at an international conference in Budapest promising "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine". They also promised to provide assistance to Ukraine if  it "should become a victim of an act of aggression". 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".

• There is a new target and a new taskforce, though not yet a credible plan for insulating homes.
• Mr Johnson promised to hit Russia with a “massive” package of sanctions designed to “hobble” the economy in Moscow.
• Providing Ukraine with access to Elon Musk's Starlink system has changed the game for its forces' ability to communicate in the field.
• This culminated on 29 December, when Russian unleashed its largest aerial assault against Ukraine since the war began.
• However, Ukraine’s role as a major food producer is reflected in the UK’s import statistics.

He said all major Russian banks will face a full UK asset freeze, which means they will not be able to access accounts, money or property in the UK. Mr Johnson said Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed a "tidal wave of violence" against Ukraine. The UK and our allies condemn the Russian government’s unprovoked and premeditated war against Ukraine. As prime minister Boris Johnson promised to increase defence spending from an existing 2% to 2.5% of GDP; his successor Liz Truss went further by committing to 3%. The question remains as to why the Foreign Office had a comparatively low number of staff focused on the region prior to Russia’s invasion – and the extent to which that hindered the UK’s response.

Services and information

The UK "cannot and will not just look away" at Russia's "hideous and barbaric" attack on Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said. The UK is not protected from rising prices purely because it relies less on Russian gas. 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. But Ukraine is not a part of Nato, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will initially focus on sanctions.

Russia is the second-biggest exporter of crude oil, and the world's largest natural gas exporter, which is vital to heating homes, powering planes and filling cars with fuel. He points out that our digital networks are mainly cellular in structure, making it almost impossible to wipe them all at once. True Russian cyberwarfare capabilities have proved something of a damp squib in Ukraine.

• But one economist has warned it could rise close to 10% in major Western economies if the cost of energy and food is pushed up by dwindling supplies cause by the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
• Around 900 British troops are stationed in Estonia under Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to Nato’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic states, which some fear could also be targeted by Mr Putin.
• Officials said there had been no specific threats to British diplomats but about half of the staff working in Kyiv will return to the UK.
• Politicians in Germany are calling for a "national gas reserve" to be created to protect consumers from price shocks.

Hungary has signalled it is ready to compromise on EU funding for Ukraine - after Brussels reportedly prepared to sabotage its economy if it did not comply. Meanwhile, Moscow has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine's northeastern  Kharkiv region. Downing Street said the leaders agreed that if a further Russian incursion took place, "allies must enact swift retributive responses including an unprecedented package of sanctions". We have also not made any explicit adjustments for the domestic consequences of international sanctions on Russian financial institutions or individuals, beyond what might be reflected in equity prices in the fiscal forecast. We do not assume these actions have a material effect on overall financial stability, lending, or investment in the UK.

But while by far the most significant consequences of the invasion over the past year have clearly been for the people of the Ukraine (and Russia), the advent of war in mainland Europe has also had consequences for UK government. Madame Chair, as we approach the third year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UK’s support will not falter. During his visit to Kyiv earlier this month, my Prime Minister announced a package of support and reaffirmed the close UK-Ukraine partnership. This included £2.5 billion in military support and a historic long-term security agreement. This brings the United Kingdom’s total package of support to Ukraine to approximately £12 billion. We remain deeply humbled by the bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian people and their determination to win.

• Russia’s actions have drawn widespread condemnation from the West, including from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who addressed the UK with a televised statement on Thursday.
• Earlier, the prime minister said on Twitter that the invasion was a "catastrophe for our continent".
• The logistics of training a “Citizen Army” are also formidable, according to one former Territorial Army (TA) soldier.
• But his remark lives on as a challenge to all policymakers thinking about whether to engage diplomatically - and even militarily - in a potential conflict between two foreign countries.
• The Prime Minister said the UK was one of the first countries in Europe to send defensive weapons to help Ukraine.

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. Gen Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram that Ukraine's air force had "excellently planned and conducted" an operation in the Azov region, south-east of Ukraine. 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. The intensity, regularity and indiscriminate nature of Russia’s attacks may violate international humanitarian law, is extremely concerning and must stop.