Russia May Start Biggest European War Since 1945 in Ukraine: UK PM Boris Johnson

UK PM Johnson said that financial sanctions would hit Russia "very, very hard".

Boris Johnson. 

(Photo: @BorisJohnson)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, 20 February, that there were "all the signs" that Russia was preparing to start the biggest European conflict in 70 years, warning that such a step would result in financial sanctions from Britain.

"The fact is that all the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun," he said in a BBC interview, agreeing with the statement from his American counterpart, President Joe Biden on imposing "swift and severe costs on Russia".

"I'm afraid to say that the plan we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in Europe since 1945, just in terms of sheer scale. I think people need to understand the sheer cost in human lives that that could entail – not just for Ukrainians, but also for young Russians."

UK PM Boris Johnson in a BBC Interview

Johnson warned of imposing financial restrictions on Russia if it "invades" or "overwhelms" Ukraine. Speaking of prohibiting Russian companies from raising money in UK markets, he said that the USA would also impose similar restrictions. "That will hit very, very hard," he said.

Saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin was possibly thinking in an illogical manner about the matter at hand, Johnson said that any conflict would be "bloody and protracted" as Putin did not "see the disaster ahead," BBC noted.

"I think it's vital for us all now to get over what a catastrophe it would be for Russia," he said.

As tensions mount in Ukraine, students and non-essential Indians currently in the country have been advised to temporarily leave, in a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs on 20 February. This comes after NATO's warning of an imminent invasion in Ukraine.