LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that the US and UK will seek to cut off Russian companies’ access to dollars and pounds if the Kremlin orders an invasion of Ukraine.
“The plan that we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in Europe since 1945 just in terms of sheer scale,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that in the event of an invasion, sanctions on Russia would be far greater than previously suggested publicly.
According to the BBC, he said the U.K. and U.S. would block Russian companies from “trading in pounds and dollars” — a move he said would “deal with a very serious blow” to its impact.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday his country was a “shield” against Russia and deserved more support in the face of a feared invasion, as Moscow test-fired nuclear-capable missiles in a show of force, AFP reported.
Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky condemned “a policy of appeasement” towards Moscow.
“For eight years, Ukraine has been a shield,” said Zelensky, who travelled to Munich despite shelling in his country’s conflict-torn east that left two Ukrainian soldiers dead.
“For eight years, Ukraine has been holding back one of the greatest armies in the world,” he added.
Zelensky called for a “clear, workable timetable” for Ukraine to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance – which Moscow has said would be a red line for its security.
But the Ukrainian leader also said he was open to meeting with Vladimir Putin to find out “what the Russian president wants.”
