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LONDON — Ukraine may descend right into a “quagmire” just like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan except Moscow abandons plans for a army incursion there, Britain’s international secretary is about to warn.
In a speech in Australia Friday, Liz Truss will name on Russian President Vladimir Putin to interact in “significant discussions” and “desist and step again from Ukraine earlier than he makes a large strategic mistake,” in accordance with extracts launched prematurely by her workplace.
As many as 100,000 Russian troops stay on the Ukrainian border, regardless of warnings from U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders of significant penalties within the occasion of an invasion. Moscow has additionally begun shifting troops to Belarus, Ukraine’s northern neighbor, for joint army workout routines.
In an indication of the rising sense of urgency amongst Western nations, the U.K. is supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, and the U.S. has given the go-ahead for three NATO allies — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — to hurry anti-armor missiles and different U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine.
In her speech, Britain’s international secretary will argue that the “Kremlin has not discovered the teachings of historical past” and warned {that a} Russian incursion would drag Moscow into a chronic battle akin to the Soviet struggle waged in Afghanistan throughout the Nineteen Eighties.
“Invasion will solely result in a horrible quagmire and lack of life, as we all know from the Soviet-Afghan struggle and battle in Chechnya,” she stated.
Truss is visiting Australia to forge nearer protection, diplomatic, know-how and financial hyperlinks with a view to assist Britain counter Russia and China, two international locations “emboldened in a manner we haven’t seen for the reason that Chilly Struggle,” she stated.
“Threats to freedom, democracy and the rule of regulation will not be simply regional — they’re international. And so we should reply collectively,” Truss is predicted to inform the Lowy Institute in Sydney. “We have to work with companions like Australia, Israel, India, Japan, Indonesia and extra. By constructing nearer ties with our mates and drawing different international locations nearer to the orbit of free-market democracies, will in the end make us all safer and freer within the years to come back.”
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