Johnson: UK would send in troops if Ukraine invaded

Britain is prepared to deploy troops to protect Nato allies in Europe if Russia invades Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said in a Commons statement.

He also warned that President Putin would face "ferocious" Ukrainian resistance and "many Russian mothers' sons will not be coming home".

The UK and its allies would also respond swiftly and "in unison" with "severe" economic sanctions, he added.

Russia, which denies plans to invade, has built up troops at the border.

Some 100,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed.

The US has put 8,500 troops on alert to deploy at short notice, which Russia said caused it "great concern".

Members of the Nato alliance, including Denmark, Spain, Bulgaria and the Netherlands, are sending more fighter jets and warships to Eastern Europe to bolster defences in the region.

In a statement made just hours after the announcement of a police probe into No 10 lockdown parties, Mr Johnson said: "The British Army leads the Nato battle group in Estonia and, if Russia invades Ukraine, we would look to contribute to any new Nato deployments to protect our allies in Europe."

On sanctions, he said he and leaders of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the EU had agreed they would impose "co-ordinated and severe economic sanctions heavier than anything we have done before against Russia".

"And we agreed on the necessity of finalising these measures as swiftly as possible in order to maximise their deterrent effect," he added.

"We've already declassified compelling intelligence, exposing Russian intent to install a puppet regime in Ukraine.

"And we will continue to disclose any Russian use of cyber attacks, false flag operations or disinformation."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party "stands resolute" in supporting Ukraine's independence and sovereignty.

About half of the staff working at the UK embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv are to return to the UK, but Mr Johnson said the embassy would stay open.

The Kremlin has said it sees Nato as a security threat, and is demanding legal guarantees that the alliance will not expand further east, including into neighbouring Ukraine.

But the US has said the issue at stake is Russian aggression, not Nato expansion.