Boris Johnson calls for pressure on Russia ahead of Europe trip
After landing in Poland's capital Warsaw, Mr Johnson was taken by motorcade to meet Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. He is due to meet the leaders of Estonia and Poland to discuss the response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis on Ukraine's border, as well as European security.
Mr Johnson will also speak to Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and meet British troops serving in Estonia - which shares a border with Russia. The prime minister is set to promise further sanctions on Mr Putin's allies and tell the British people that there will be a cost to the economy, for example in higher energy bills, the BBC understands. He will also say there are 1,000 British troops on standby to help with the humanitarian response in Europe.Watch: Deputy PM Dominic Raab says the ICC is looking at situation is Ukraine "very carefully" Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could retaliate with increasingly "heavy-handed tactics" if his invasion of Ukraine faces further hitches. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We can expect, for every stutter and stumble, him to try and come back for even more heavy-handed tactics, but that is a sign that the initial phase at least - and this is going to be a long haul - has not lived up to his expectations." Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will travel to Geneva on Tuesday to speak at the United Nations Human Rights Council. She is expected to accuse the Kremlin of breaching human rights on an industrial scale, paving the way for a UN resolution which could go as far as expelling Russia from the Security Council. And International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan has said he plans to open an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine as soon as possible. Shadow defence secretary John Healey said the Labour party would support the UK government in responding to the invasion, adding: "The most important thing is there is a united UK voice, standing with the Ukrainians." Military tactics researcher Dr Jack Watling said the West was trying to provide aide far too late and as a result that aide, includingBoris Johnson at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Saturday How best to help Ukrainian refugees may be one subject Mr Johnson will discuss with his Polish counterpart on Tuesday. Poland says it has been trying to process more than 300,000 people who have fled from Ukraine. The UK government is facing calls to make its visa rules clearer and to match the European Union's offer to accept Ukrainian refugees for up to three years, without asking them to apply for asylum. On Monday evening, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government was working on the possibility of helping Ukrainian refugees come to the UK. She told ITV's Peston programme further changes to the UK's policy would be announced in the next few days.for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, saying security checks were a "fundamental" part of the approval process. The government has already made changes to visa rules allowing anyone settled in the UK to bring their immediate Ukrainian family members to join them. On Tuesday, the Archbishop of York said the government was "lagging behind" in providing safe and easy routes for refugees, as they must acquire a visa before being able to come to the UK.Stephen Cottrell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was an urgent need to help the thousands of people "in the most desperate situation" who have fled to neighbouring countries like Poland. "There are many flights from Poland every day and people can't get on them because they don't have a visa. We need to change this urgently," he added. In further diplomatic efforts, the foreign secretary will travel to Geneva on Tuesday, where she will address a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council . On Monday, Ms Truss set out further sanctions against Russia, including powers to prevent Russian banks from clearing payments in sterling, freezing the assets of three more Russian banks, and announcing an export ban on "high-end technological equipment". She said the government would target a "hit list" of Russian oligarchs "focusing on their houses, their yachts and every aspect of their lives". At the meeting, Ms Truss is expected to say Mr Putin is "violating human rights on an industrial scale" and has been "murdering Ukrainians indiscriminately".Moscow's nuclear forces on "special alert"Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed "unacceptable" remarks about possible "clashes" between Nato and Moscow, including by "the British foreign minister". Mr Putin's announcement, which has been met with international condemnation, does not mean Russia intends to use its nuclear weapons. UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the heightened nuclear alert was an attempt by the Kremlin to "distract" from what was "going wrong" with its assault on Ukraine.
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