Boris Johnson has warned that he believes Vladimir Putin plans to “double down” on his bloody invasion of Ukraine, envisaging “no way out” other than to continue with the “pulverising of innocent populations”.
Despite the Russian president’s insistence that his “special military operation” was “going to plan” as it entered its ninth day, his forces’ progress appears to be behind schedule and beset by logistical problems.
Mr Putin repeated in a televised address on Thursday he wanted to ensure the “demilitarisation of Ukraine so that we can’t be threatened by an anti-Russia right on our borders that the West has been creating for years”.
But with his forces taking a week to capture their first major city, Kherson, amid staunch and widespread Ukrainian resistance, the flagging advance of ground troops appears to have been replaced with the more cautious – and devastating – tactic of bombardment.
Speaking to foreign reporters on Friday as fears for cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv drew comparisons with the infamously levelled cities of Aleppo and Grozny, the British prime minister suggested Mr Putin potentially saw no other option but to continue pummelling civilian areas with explosives.
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“It feels to me as though Vladimir Putin has decided to – and it’s clear from what’s happening – that he’s decided to double down,” Mr Johnson said.
“He sees no way out of the cul-de-sac that he’s in, except to continue with the destruction, the pulverising of innocent populations, in innocent European cities. So we will have to respond together with an intensified package.”
His comments also came after a tense night – one in which Washington’s ambassador told UN delegates that “the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe” – as the Russians launched a successful bid to capture Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
World news in pictures Show all 50
1/50World news in pictures
World news in pictures 4 March 2022 People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 3 March 2022 An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region
Reuters
World news in pictures 2 March 2022 A man with his newborn child takes shelter in the basement of a perinatal centre as air raid siren sounds are heard amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv
Reuters
World news in pictures 1 March 2022 Members of an Ukrainian civil defense unit pass new assault rifles to the opposite side of a blown up bridge on Kyiv’s northern front
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 28 February 2022 Members of the Ukrainian community of Rome collect basic necessities to be distributed to the Ukrainian population, at the church of Santa Sofia in Rome, Italy
EPA
World news in pictures 27 February 2022 Protesters crowd around the victory column and close to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to demonstrate for peace in Ukraine
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 26 February 2022 The Swiss Air Force fly in front of the Weisshorn mountain in the Swiss Alps prior to the start of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 25 February 2022 A Ukrainian firefighter walks between at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv
AP
World news in pictures 24 February 2022 Firefighters work on a building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv. Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions, using rocket systems and helicopters to attack Ukrainian position in the south, the border guard service said
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 23 February 2022 A woman wearing a face mask walks next to decorations at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand
EPA
World news in pictures 22 February 2022 Anganwadi workers take part in a protest march near Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, demanding better facilities and working conditions for women
AFP/ Getty
World news in pictures 21 February 2022 An elderly woman stands in a street of the city of Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 20 February 2022 High waves in Doolin in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland
PA
World news in pictures 19 February 2022 Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China in action in Beijing, China
Reuters
World news in pictures 17 February 2021 A part of a damaged wall crashes onto the pavement during a storm in Berlin, Germany
AP
World news in pictures 16 February 2022 Syrian firefighters extinguish fire following artillery shelling by the Syrian regime on a fuel depot affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group in the northwestern rebel-held town of Dana
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 15 February 2022 Austria's Cornelia Huetter competes in the womens downhill final during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 14 February 2022 A Taliban fighter directs traffic as a street vendor sells red heart-shaped balloons for Valentine's Day, in Kabul, Afghanistan
AP
World news in pictures 13 February 2022 Russian Navy's diesel-electric Kilo class submarine Rostov-on-Don sails with an naval ensign of the Russian Federation, also known in Russian as The Andreyevsky Flag on it through the Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Black Sea
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 12 February 2022 People participate in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 11 February 2022 A tank during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus as part of an inspection of the Union State’s Response Force, at a firing range near Brest
Russian Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 10 February 2022 Multiple exposure photo of Magdalena Czyszczon of Poland during the Speed Skating warm up at the 2022 Beijing Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 9 February 2022 An Indian hand rickshaw puller waits for customers in front of a building displaying posters of different theater shows in Kolkata, India
AP
World news in pictures 8 February 2022 Starlings overfly Zaragoza, Spain
EPA
World news in pictures 7 February 2022 Performers dressed as superhero characters pose with a child receiving the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 6 February 2022 Cars stop before a flooded area, after Cyclone Batsirai made landfall, on a road in Vohiparara, Madagascar
Reuters
World news in pictures 5 February 2022 A woman carries a child as locals who were displaced by Cyclone Ana find refuge in an evacuation centre at the West Ankorondrano neighbourhood, Madagascar
Reuters
World news in pictures 4 February 2022 Performers take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 3 February 2022 Italian Air Force aerobatic display team, the Frecce Tricolori, perform during the inauguration of the president of the Italian Republic, in Rome. Sergio Mattarella was elected for a second term
EPA
World news in pictures 2 February 2022 Italian athletes during training ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 1 February 2022 People are sprayed with foam at an amusement park as part of holiday festivities on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger in Yogyakarta
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 31 January 2022 Arterial roads are lit up as morning commuters drive along at dawn in western Beijing ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 30 January 2022 Rafael Nadal reacts after beating Daniil Medvedev in the men’s singles Australian Open final. In doing so, the Spaniard won a record-breaking 21st grand slam title
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 29 January 2022 A worker cleans up crude oil on Mae Ram Phueng beach following a spill caused by a leak in an undersea pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited in Rayong, Thailand
Getty
World news in pictures 28 January 2022 Medical staff in personal protective equipment are seen at a speed skating training session for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Reuters
World news in pictures 27 January 2022 Los Angeles sculptor Dan Medina has honored the anniversary of the deaths of Kobe and Gigi Bryant along with seven other passengers by placing a temporary statue of the two where their helicopter crashed two years ago today in Calabasas, California
REUTERS
World news in pictures 26 January 2022 The Central Reserve Police Force during the 73rd Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, India
EPA
World news in pictures 25 January 2022 A winter swimming enthusiast dives into a partly frozen lake in a partly frozen lake in Shenyang, in northeastern China’s Liaoning province
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 24 January 2022 A newlywed couple from the US enjoys a snowfall during a photo shooting near the Acropolis in Athens
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures 23 January 2022 Anti-vaccine and mask activists act out getting a vaccine during a ‘Defeat the Mandates’ rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, USA
EPA
World news in pictures 22 January 2022 Horse patrol of the 2nd Lublin Territorial Defense Brigade on the border with Belarus in Wlodawa, Poland
EPA
World news in pictures 21 January 2022 Carlos Hebert Plante dives into freezing waters to use his boogie board as extreme cold weather hits Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Reuters
World news in pictures 20 January 2022 Children wearing traditional uniform take part in the children’s ‘Tamborrada’ drum event to mark San Sebastian patron saint’s Day, in Basque Country, northern Spain
EPA
World news in pictures 19 January 2022 A woman poses for a picture near an ice hole as a man takes a dip during celebrations of the Orthodox Christian feast of Epiphany in the settlement of Ivanovskoye in the Moscow region, Russia
REUTERS
World news in pictures 18 January 2022 Soldiers march during celebrations to mark Royal Thai Armed Forces Day at Chulabhorn Camp in the southern Thailand province of Narathiwat
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 17 January 2022 Novak Djokovic prepares to take his seat on a plane to Belgrade, in Dubai, after losing his bid to stay in Australia to defend his Australian Open title despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19
AP
World news in pictures 16 January 2022 A dog drinks water from a tap on Bondi Beach in Sydney
Getty
World news in pictures 15 January 2022 The Patrouille Suisse jets perform prior to the Men’s Downhill race at the Fis Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland
EPA
World news in pictures 14 January 2022 Hindu devotees take a dip in the waters of river Narmada in Budhni, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a day considered to be of great religious significance in Hindu mythology
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures 13 January 2022 Kuwait City’s al-Hamra tower (right), the headquarters of The National Bank of Kuwait (centre) and the al-Rayah tower (left), caught in heavy fog
AFP/Getty
While shelling prompted a fire to break out at a training building close to the Zaporizhzhia site, Ukrainian officials said “essential” equipment was unaffected, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
But, with Ukraine housing four large nuclear plants and 15 reactors and associated facilities, plus the site at Chernobyl which the Russians have also seized, Mr Johnson warned that an “urgent” plan was needed to ensure a catastrophe did not take place at any Ukrainian nuclear sites.
The prime minister described being woken in the middle of the night by a call from the “extremely concerned” Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“He rang me to say something that I agreed with profoundly, which is: an attack on a nuclear power plant or an explosion at a nuclear power plant are clearly a matter of our common European health and safety,” Mr Johnson told reporters from La Repubblica, Die Welt and El Pais.
"Our security is equally involved, equally jeopardised by such an attack. We remember what happened with Chernobyl, the radioactive clouds spread over the whole continent, and indeed, also to North America, as far as I can remember.
"There is clearly a risk. Although the incident has been contained and the IAEA says there's no excessive radioactivity, I am concerned about how we stop a disaster: there are other Ukrainian plants and there are certainly other Ukrainian radioactive nuclear waste sites.
"One of the things we need to consider is how we're going to work together to prevent such a disaster. I don't think the answers are easy, but we need to work on it ... We need to work on it urgently.”
As the UN was warned that Russian troops were “20 miles, and closing” from Ukraine’s second-largest plant, Mr Johnson was asked how such sites could be protected. He said: “We have to make clear to the Kremlin that a civilian nuclear disaster in Ukraine, another Chernobyl, is a disaster for Russia as well as for everybody.
Statista map shows the location of Ukraine’s nuclear power stations
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This Statista map shows the location of Ukraine’s nuclear power stations
(Statista/The Independent)
“Therefore, I think that some system of protecting those plants, some system of ensuring that radioactivity levels are monitored by international authorities, such as the UN and the IAEA on the ground, is going to be extremely important.”
Mr Johnson also repeated his assessment that Mr Putin had “badly underestimated” the bravery and patriotism of the Ukrainian people and Mr Zelensky, as well as the “unity” of western nations.
Asked if the situation had “in some sense ... mended a lot of wounds and a lot of broken relations between the UK and the European Union”, Mr Johnson said: “All crises reveal the true relationships.”
He added: “Sometimes, if a family goes through some big trauma, then the real strength of the affection between the members of the family and the way they work together can sometimes suddenly be revealed again.
“I think that's probably what's happening now.”
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Repeating statements made this week during visits to Nato allies in Estonia and Poland, Mr Johnson said Mr Putin was wrong if he had expected to “get less Nato” by invading Ukraine, adding: “Nato is going to be closer, they're going to be bigger. Defence spending is going up.
“So he's ending up with the exact opposite of what he wanted.”
Despite Mr Zelensky fiercely berating Nato in an emotional address on Friday night over the alliance’s refusal to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, Mr Johnson congratulated European governments on their “support for the Ukrainian right to self-defence”, saying: “We must not accept the narrative of Vladimir Putin that this is about him versus Nato, or him versus the West.”
Additional reporting by PA
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