Europe faces biggest security crisis: Boris Johnson as Ukraine tension deepens

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on
Thursday visited the NATO headquarters in Brussels amid tension over Russia’s
military deployment on the Ukraine border. Johnson said the Ukraine crisis has
entered “the most dangerous moment”.

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Johnson, however, said he did not think a decision has yet been
taken by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to invade Ukraine.

“This is probably the most dangerous moment. I would
say that in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security
crisis that Europe has faced for decades, we’ve got to get it right,” Johnson
said.

Also Read: British envoy heads to Moscow to try to ease Ukraine crisis

According to The Guardian, Moscow has deployed
more than 135,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, both in Russia and in
Belarus and the country has also put all necessary weapons and ammunition in
place.

Jens Stoltenberg echoes Johnson’s concern

NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, echoed
Johnson’s concern. “This is a dangerous moment for European security. The
number of Russian forces is going up. The warning time for a possible attack is
going down,” he said in a press release issued by NATO.

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UK, NATO not to intervene militarily

Johnson said the UK and NATO would not intervene
militarily if Ukraine was attacked, but repeated that Moscow would face
unspecified economic sanctions. A conflict, he added, would be a disaster for
both countries, as he called on Putin to de-escalate.

Also Read: French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Kyiv after talks with Vladimir Putin, amid Ukraine crisis

“I know that in the Kremlin and across Russia they
must be wondering whether it is really sensible to expend the blood of Russian
soldiers in a war that I think would be catastrophic,” the prime minister said.
“And all I would say is that this is the moment now to think of another way
forward.”

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In response to a question from the BBC, Johnson did
indicate the UK may be willing to provide arms to support any Ukrainian
insurgency if Russia were to invade, saying: “It’s possible, I don’t want to
rule this out.”

“We will consider what more we can conceivably offer,
but I have to tell you that, you know, the Ukrainians are well prepared. There
are things that we’ve offered that they, in fact, don’t seem to need because
they think they have them in enough numbers already,” Johnson added.