’Bloodshed and misery’ ahead for Ukraine, says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has predicted a ‘generation of bloodshed and misery’ as intelligence chiefs warned that Russia’s plan to seize control of Ukraine had begun.

Boris Johnson has predicted a “generation of bloodshed and misery” as intelligence chiefs warned that Vladimir Putin’s plan to seize control of Ukraine had begun.

The stark assessment came as Russia shelled Ukrainian troops, killing at least two, and test-fired nuclear-capable missiles, in an escalation of hostilities, on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).

Four senior British government officials confirmed they expected a multi-pronged Russian assault to begin any day, possibly culminating in a “lightning war” against the capital, Kyiv.

“Our intelligence is consistent with the Americans’. Putin has a plan and it is under way,” one said.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told a security conference in Munich to get ready for war. “This is the most dangerous moment for European security since the 1940s,” she said.

“We need to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Russia has shown they aren’t serious about diplomacy.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky won a standing ovation in Munich – scene of ­Neville Chamberlain’s capitulation to Adolf Hitler in 1938 – after he compared the refusal of some countries to provide lethal aid to appeasement.

He said his country was prepared to fight alone but its army was defending all of Europe. “We have a right to demand a shift from a policy of appeasement to one ­ensuring security and peace,” Mr Zelensky said. “Has our world completely forgotten the mistakes of the 20th century? Where does the policy of appeasement usually lead?”

British intelligence agrees with the White House that Mr Putin has already issued a “go” order to trigger his war plan.

They expect the Russians to follow up “false flag” operations and skirmishes with Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbas ­region with an attack by separatist forces before Russian troops “take a bite out of Ukraine” or launch a “full-scale invasion”.

A security source familiar with the latest information said: “I would expect a massive opening salvo to try to remove the government in Kyiv. The Russians have positioned cruise missiles to take out the capital.”

Another senior adviser said: “There is a recognition that we might be dealing with a lightning war but also lots of different ­scenarios playing out at once or in sequence.”

These include “the big assault on Kyiv”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready to face Russia alone, if need be. Picture: AFP

The US has raised its estimate of the number of Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s border to more than 169,000.

The leaders of the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine announced a “mobilisation” of men of fighting age, and the evacuation of 700,00 residents – claiming that the Ukrainian army was planning an attack.

Millions of people are believed to live in Donetsk and Luhansk, most of whom are Russian speakers; many have already been granted Russian citizenship.

Pro-Russia media released a barrage of unproven claims that “provocateurs” had been detained in eastern Ukraine.

Western analysts said the metadata of videos supposedly showing evacuations on Friday indicated they were made on Wednesday, suggesting that they were staged.

Ukraine’s armed forces chief, Valery Zaluzhny, issued a video address to residents living in ­Donetsk and Luhansk, which are both in the Donbas region, urging them not to take Moscow’s bait and denying that Kyiv was planning an offensive.

Western intelligence officials said the evacuation order was consistent with warnings from US ­Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Moscow was preparing for false flag operations.

Further heightening pressure on Ukraine – and on the West – Mr Putin launched massive nuclear drills, including the test launch from the sea of hypersonic and cruise missiles at targets on land.

Mr Johnson told the Munich conference that “the omens are grim” and predicted an invasion would be a “shock heard around the world” and would lead to “the ­destruction of a democratic state”.

He issued a direct appeal to Mr Putin, saying there was still time “at the eleventh hour” for diplomacy.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris accused Mr Putin of engineering a false pretext for invading Ukraine and warned that the consequences for Russia would be ­“severe and swift”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said any military aggression would be a serious mistake, adding: “Peace can only be preserved if borders are accepted as they are.”

The Sunday Times