London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Ukraine crisis: PM urges Nato allies not to compromise principles

Ukraine crisis: PM urges Nato allies not to compromise principles

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to travel to Brussels and Warsaw on Thursday in support of Nato allies, as he says the alliance must not compromise its principles.

He said Nato must draw "lines in the snow" amid tensions over Ukraine, including the right of every European democracy to aspire to membership.

Russia wants assurances Ukraine will not be allowed to join the alliance.

It denies plans to invade but has well over 100,000 troops near the border.

The prime minister's trip is part of a surge of diplomatic activity, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also due to meet their Russian counterparts in Moscow on Thursday.

Ahead of the first visit to Russia by a UK foreign secretary in four years, Ms Truss said she was determined to stand up for freedom and democracy in Ukraine and intended to urge Moscow to pursue a diplomatic solution.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also expected to meet the Nato secretary-general.

France's President Emmanuel Macron said talks with Russia and Ukraine, which began earlier this week, could also resume on Thursday.

Mr Macron told reporters on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin had assured him Russian forces would not ramp up the crisis, but Russia said it had given no such guarantee.

Tensions continue to mount, with the US criticising large-scale Russian military drills about to take place over 10 days in Belarus, Ukraine's neighbour, as "escalatory".

The crisis is the latest stage in a long-running conflict, which began in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula. Russian-backed separatists control swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine and at least 14,000 people have been killed.

Mr Johnson will meet the Nato secretary-general in Brussels and Poland's president and prime minister in Warsaw, intending to show solidarity with Nato allies who are most at risk from Russian hostilities.

The prime minister announced 1,000 more British troops will be put on alert in the UK, with the government warning of a possible "humanitarian crisis", if a Russian incursion into Ukraine sends people fleeing into neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, 350 Royal Marines from 45 Commando are to begin deploying to Poland as part of support announced for the country earlier this week.

The UK will also offer to double the number of its troops in Estonia, deploy more RAF jets based in southern Europe, and to sail a Type 45 destroyer and HMS Trent, a patrol ship, in the eastern Mediterranean.


If it is Thursday, it must be Britain.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have seen a steady flow of western politicians in recent days. Today it is Britain's turn.

In Russia, the foreign and the defence secretaries will be repeating a message with which the Kremlin must now be familiar, one of deterrence and diplomacy: any Russian military action against Ukraine will be met by massive economic sanctions, but the West remains open to dialogue about Russia's security concerns once it has de-escalated its threat against Ukraine.

The prime minister, meanwhile, is off to Brussels to discuss with Nato chiefs what more the UK could do to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank. Mr Johnson will then head to Poland, which would be on the front line if conflict were to escalate in Ukraine.

The key aim of all this diplomacy is to maintain pressure on Russia while reassuring allies in Nato, retaining Western unity and keeping the door open to a non-military solution.

The prime minister said: "When Nato was founded, allies made an historic undertaking to safeguard the freedom of every member state. The UK remains unwavering in our commitment to European security.

"What we need to see is real diplomacy, not coercive diplomacy. As an alliance we must draw lines in the snow and be clear there are principles upon which we will not compromise.

"That includes the security of every Nato ally and the right of every European democracy to aspire to Nato membership."

Mr Johnson will meet British troops already deployed in Poland as part of Nato's strengthened defences in eastern states.

After touching down in Moscow on Wednesday, Ms Truss said Russia "must immediately withdraw its forces and respect Ukraine's sovereignty or face severe consequences".

"Any incursion would be a huge mistake. Diplomacy is the only way forward and Russia must pursue that path," she said.


The foreign secretary has said the UK is prepared to impose what she called "the toughest sanctions regime we have ever had" if there was a Russian incursion.

Moscow in turn has repeatedly blamed what it calls "the Anglo-Saxon nations" for escalating tensions around Ukraine.

And it described the UK's claims that the Kremlin planned to install a pro-Russian puppet government in Ukraine as hysteria.

Russia's EU ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told the BBC his country still believed diplomacy could de-escalate the crisis but warned Nato allies "not to provoke Russia into changing its mind."


Watch: Understand the Ukraine crisis with Ros Atkins in less than six minutes


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
×