Tory MPs accuse Boris Johnson of ENCOURAGING invasion of Ukraine with ‘pathetic’ sanctions that ‘Putin doesn’t give a sh*t about’
- PM came under withering friendly fire today over ‘weak’ economic measures
- More sanctions expected to be unveiled later after invasion of Ukraine
- Measures introduced on Monday targeted five banks and three Putin cronies
- Russia’s ambassador to Sweden said Putin ‘doesn’t give a s**t’ about sanctions
- MP Tom Tugendhat said UK sanctions ‘encourage others to believe we are weak’
Boris Johnson was accused of ‘encouraging’ Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine today by imposing ‘pathetic sanctions’ that the Russian leader completely ignored.
The Prime Minister came under withering friendly fire this morning over ‘weak’ economic measures targeting cronies of the Kremlin autocrat before his tanks crossed the border.
Mr Johnson this week unveiled measures targeting just three people and five banks after Putin recognised two breakaway areas in Ukraine’s east – and is preparing to introduce more now that a full-scale incursion is underway.
But less than a fortnight ago, Russia’s ambassador to Sweden said that his boss ‘doesn’t give a s**t’ about economic restrictions being put in place.
In an outspoken interview, Viktor Tatarintsev told the country’s Aftonbladet newspaper that ‘the more the West pushes Russia, the stronger the Russian response will be’.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, a former soldier and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. told the BBC today: ‘I’m afraid weak sanctions like the ones that were imposed on Monday just encourage others to believe we are weak because we’re clearly not willing to do anything serious.
‘So what that did, I’m afraid on Monday, was it didn’t deter, but encouraged, because it gave the suggestion or made clear that we weren’t wiling to do anything serious.
The Prime Minister came under withering friendly fire this morning over ‘weak’ economic measures targeting cronies of the Kremlin autocrat before his tanks crossed the border.
Tory Tom Tugendhat, a former soldier and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee: ‘I’m afraid weak sanctions like the ones that were imposed on Monday just encourage others to believe we are weak because we’re clearly not willing to do anything serious.’
Mr Johnson this week unveiled measures targeting just three people and five banks after Putin recognised two breakaway areas in Ukraine’s east – and is preparing to introduce more now that a full-scale incursion is underway.
Russia has today launched all-out war on Ukraine with simultaneous attacks coming from south, east and north, by land and by air
‘If we are going to do sanctions, as I say, we need to do them extremely hard and extremely early.’
He added: ‘This is a vile act of war and an aggression which really cannot be tolerated by any party.’
Russia today launched all-out war on Ukraine with simultaneous attacks coming from south, east and north, by land and by air. Missiles and bombs rained from the sky, tanks rolled across the border, troops parachuted down on eastern regions and explosions were seen across the country after Vladimir Putin gave the order to attack.
‘Hundreds’ of Ukrainian troops were killed in early clashes, and official said, as the fight came to them on all fronts at a moment’s notice. Official figures put the death toll at 40, with ‘dozens’ wounded. Cruise missiles, guided bombs and GRAD rockets took out targets from east to west – aimed at airfields, military bases, ammo dumps, and command posts including in the capital.
Six Russian jets were shot out of the sky over the eastern Donbass region with 50 Russian troops killed, Ukraine claimed, before Moscow boasted of taking full control of the skies. Ukrainian border guards said they had come under attack by heavy artillery, tanks and troops from Russia and Belarus as Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko threw his forces into the fight – though he denied taking part.
Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv in the east of Ukraine all reported coming under attack, with blasts also reported in the west – in Zhytomyr and Lviv, close to the border with Poland. Extraordinary video footage showed what appeared to be a cruise missile slamming into Ivano-Frankivsk airport, also in the west. An apartment block in Kharkiv was struck, causing civilian casualties.
Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said he believes the UK’s initial round of sanctions failed to deter Russia partly because Vladimir Putin is making decisions ‘increasingly in isolation’ and ‘illogically’.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘What became evident in the days leading up to this invasion is that Vladimir Putin is increasingly isolated. That bizarre video of him berating his senior officials shows that he’s making these decisions increasingly in isolation and illogically.
‘And unfortunately I think that that is part of the reason why the initial round of international sanctions that (were) put in place by ourselves, by France, Germany, the US, Canada and others, didn’t have the deterrent effect.’
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