As the West rallies against Russia’s war by issuing economy-crippling sanctions and phasing out Russian energy,NATO is drawing up plans to deploy a permanent full-scale military force on Ukraine’s border in an effort to combat future aggression from the Kremlin.
The alliance’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview withThe Telegraph in London that NATO was “in the midst of a very fundamental transformation” that will reflect “the long-term consequences” of Vladimir Putin’s actions.
As part of a major “reset”,the relatively small “tripwire” presence on the alliance’s eastern flank will be replaced with sufficient forces to repel an attempted invasion of member states such as Estonia and Latvia. Options for the reset are being developed by NATO military commanders.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes Boris Johnson on a tour of warn-torn Kyiv.
Johnson said he would give Ukraine 120 new armoured vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems,which could be used to fight off Russian forces in Mariupol,on Ukraine’s south coast.
He also promised to guarantee a further £385 million ($674 million) of World Bank lending to Ukraine,subject to parliamentary approval.
He said Britain would supply the equipment,the technology,the know-how and the intelligence,so that “Ukraine will never be invaded again”,and pledged to “liberalise trade with Ukraine as we go forward”.
Zelensky hailed Johnson as “one of the most principled opponents of the Russian invasion”.
“This visit is a manifestation of strong,significant,constant support of the United Kingdom for Ukraine. We appreciate it and will remember it,” he said.
“Peace agreements must provide a mechanism of effective guarantees for our state. We talked about this in detail today. We hope that in this process London will play a key role in achieving peace in Ukraine;it will be our common victory.”
Johnson is the first Group of Seven leader to visit Kyiv since Russia’s invasion and followed a similar meeting between Zelensky and Ursula von der Leyen,the president of the European Commission,earlier this week.
Earlier in the day,the Ukrainian leader met Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Kyiv,warning in a joint news conference that while the threat to the capital has receded,it is gaining in the east.
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Ukrainian officials have urged civilians in the east to flee. On Friday,officials said more than 50 people were killed in a missile strike on a train station in the Donetsk region city of Kramatorsk,where thousands of people had gathered to evacuate.
Russia’s invasion,which began on February 24,has forced about a quarter of the population of 44 million to leave their homes,turned cities into rubble and killed or injured thousands.
The civilian casualties have triggered a wave of international condemnation,in particular over deaths in Bucha,a town to the north-west of Kyiv that until last week was occupied by Russian forces.
Friday’s missile attack at the station in Kramatorsk,a hub for civilians fleeing the east,left shreds of blood-stained clothes,toys and damaged luggage strewn across the station’s platform.
City mayor Oleksander Honcharenko,who estimated 4000 people were gathered there at the time,said on Saturday the death toll had risen to least 52.
Russia’s defence ministry denied responsibility,saying in a statement the missiles that struck the station were used only by Ukraine’s military and that Russia’s armed forces had no targets assigned in Kramatorsk on Friday.
Russian state television described the attack as a “bloody provocation” by Ukraine.
With agencies