Russia invasion fears rise amid fresh reports of fighting

‘It doesn’t have to happen. It’s with Putin to pull back’

- David Bond and Nicholas Cecil

FEARS of a Russian invasion of Ukraine rose today amid fresh reports of fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country.

As Western leaders stepped up frantic diplomatic efforts to avert an escalation, Britain and the US warned an attack could be launched within hours. Although the UK’s security minister insisted there was still a diplomatic route out of the crisis if Vladimir Putin chose to take it.

International security monitors in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, which has been the setting for a grinding conflict since 2014, reported more than 500 explosions in the 24 hours to yesterday lunchtime — about four times the usual level of shelling in the area.

One international source monitoring the situation in Ukraine told the Standard today that there had been a step up in ceasefire violations in the past few days and that the situation had escalated to a level not seen since July 2020.

Having warned that an invasion could be imminent yesterday, UK ministers tried to dial down the rhetoric today, insisting it could take longer for a full-blown invasion to materialise. But security minister Damian Hinds insisted the threat was still very real.