British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Northern European and Baltic countries this week and is preparing to urge Russia to "pull back from the brink" and go for de-escalation.
That's what Politico reports.
According to the British prime minister's office, Boris Johnson seeks to "strengthen and expand the Western alliance." Also Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace, who interrupted a short vacation because of the "deteriorating situation," will also meet with counterparts in Brussels this week.
"There is still a window of opportunity for de-escalation and diplomacy, and the prime minister will continue to work tirelessly with our allies to force Russia back from the abyss," the Downing Street speaker said.
Britain is also working on a military support and economic aid package for Ukraine because of the growing threat of Russian invasion, a British government spokesman told Reuters. It will be announced in the coming days.
"The crisis on the border with Ukraine has reached a critical point. All the information we have suggests that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine at any moment," the British government reports.
The publication recalls a U.S. intelligence warning suggesting that Russia could invade Ukraine this Wednesday.
Johnson receives daily intelligence briefings about the Russian force build-up, the prime minister's office reports.
British instructors stationed in Ukraine on various training missions were due to leave the country last weekend.
The British government on Friday urged all British citizens to leave Ukraine immediately while commercial means remain available. Only the core team of British diplomats, including Ambassador Melinda Simmons, remained.
