UK junior defense minister: Britons in Ukraine should not expect military evacuation
February 12, 2022, 11:22 am

UK junior defense minister: Britons in Ukraine should not expect military evacuation

UK-London-UK flag/Pixabay

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, UK junior defense minister James Heappey told Sky News on Saturday, British nationals who choose to stay in Ukraine should not expect a military evacuation if a conflict with Russia breaks out.

He said: "British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately by any means possible and they should not expect, as they saw in the summer with Afghanistan, that there would be any possibility of a military evacuation."

Reuters said that on Friday the UK government advised British nationals to leave Ukraine now while commercial means were still available and advised against all further travel to the country.

Heappey said no decision had yet been made on Britain's diplomatic presence in Ukraine.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday British troops sent to Ukraine for training purposes would return soon.

USA to evacuate embassy in Kyiv, UK demands citizens to leave Ukraine

UK publishes new law to impose tough penalties on Russia

Heappey said: "There will be no British troops in Ukraine if there is any conflict with Russia."

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were set to speak on Saturday as Western nations warned that a war in Ukraine could ignite at any moment.

Source: aawsat

Deputy U.N. chief deeply shaken by rape accounts in Ethiopia Boris Johnson focused on Ukraine, not police questionnaire

Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.