Russian invasion of Ukraine could rival WW2 warns UK military chief
The new head of Britain’s armed forces has compared a full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine to the second world war.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, who took up his post as head of the UK’s armed forces in October, gave his first speech in the role amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia. With more than 90,000 Russian troops stationed at the borders of the Ukraine, Radakin told media that the situation is “deeply worrying.”
“The significance of the worst scenarios in terms of a full invasion of Ukraine would be on a scale not seen in Europe since World War 2,” Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said.
Tensions between Russia and the Ukraine have reached boiling point with a build-up of Russian troops seen along the border heightening worries that Putin intends to invade the Donbas region, most of which is held by separatists after a 7-year-long war with the Ukrainian government.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden met with Putin via video conference to discuss the escalation of tensions. During the call the White House warned that a military escalation in Ukraine would lead to economic sanctions from the US with the Western superpower prepared to protect the Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Putin continues to maintain that Russia will not attack.
Russia – Ukraine
The two countries have a long history of conflict. Today’s Ukraine was founded as an independent polity in 1991 when it broke away from the collapsed Soviet Union. In the years since the country has struggled to plot a path to independence as it balances its relations with the EU and NATO alongside a long standing partnership with Russia.
In 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine as the country pulled away from its eastern neighbour towards the EU. The invasion marked the first time that a European country has seized neighbouring territory since World War II and 14,000 people have so far died in the conflict.
Read more: Explainer-in-brief: Dialling down the temperature in Ukraine