The UK has seen intelligence that suggests Vladimir Putin’s plan to invade Ukraine is already under way, Downing Street has said.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson stressed that this did not mean that Russian troops had begun crossing the border into Ukraine.
But he said that the latest intelligence suggests that Moscow “intends” to invade, and that the expected playbook for how Putin would put an invasion plan into effect was now unrolling on the ground.
"The intelligence we are seeing suggests that Russia intends to launch an invasion and that president Putin’s plan has already begun, in effect,” the spokesperson told reporters.
"We’re seeing elements of the Russian playbook that we would expect to see in certain situations, starting to play out in real time. We have been working with Nato allies to call that out when we see it.
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“The intelligence we have suggests that they still intend to launch an invasion and we stand ready to act as needed.
“But crucially, we still think there is a window for diplomacy. I think that’s what we’ve seen with discussions over the weekend and we want to explore those.”
The comments come after French president Emmanuel Macron proposed a summit on Thursday between Mr Putin and Joe Biden to seek a diplomatic way out of the crisis in Ukraine.
Mr Johnson’s spokesperson made clear that London was not yet certain that the proposed meeting would go ahead or what format it would take.
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“We would obviously support any avenue that seeks to resolve this through diplomatic means, but we're early stages with regards to this summit,” said the spokesperson.
“We will work with Nato allies on whatever is most suitable way to achieve those aims.”
The spokesperson denied that Mr Macron’s initiative, which followed lengthy telephone discussions with Putin on Sunday, indicated that the UK was being frozen out of a leading role in the efforts to resolve the crisis.
He said it was important for Ukraine’s leaders to make their own decisions on the future of their country, but declined to say whether they should be present at any Biden-Putin talks, noting that ther was so far “no cast-list” for Thursday’s proposed summit.
This infographic, created for The Independent by statistics agency Statista, shows the relative military strength of Ukraine and Russia
(Statista/The Independent)
“It's important that Nato allies work together and that's what you're seeing - the continued unity of the Nato alliance in acting as one on this., said the spokesperson
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“I think what you're seeing is some Nato countries, including the UK, seeking to encourage Russia to de-escalate.
“Of course, as the prime minister said a number of occasions is right that Ukraine as an independent and sovereign nation must be able to choose what path is right for them.”