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A Conservative MP has suggested that Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion could apply for the seasonal worker scheme in order to get into the UK. Kevin Foster, MP for Torbay, was replying to Labour’s shadow armed forces minister Luke Pollard in an exchange on Twitter. Mr Pollard had raised concerns that Ukrainians fleeing the conflict still have to apply for a visa to enter the UK, something other countries – such as Ireland and Portugal – have waived in response to the invasion. He wrote: “I’m looking for a route for people fleeing Ukraine who might not have a family link in the UK. We have a moral obligation to help them. Will you now change policy to do exactly that?”Follow the latest in our Ukraine war live blog hereConservative MP Kevin Foster then replied, in a now-deleted tweet, saying: “As you will be well aware there are a number of routes, not least our seasonal worker scheme you will recall from your Shadow Defra days, which Ukrainians can qualify for, alongside the family route for those with relatives here.”Kevin Foster MP has now replaced his previous message with the simpler: “Hi Luke. It’s just one of several routes and we will do more as the PM has made clear.”The tweet, which Mr Foster has now taken down, was widely criticised on social media, with Labour and Co-op MP for Leeds, Alex Sobel, replying: “Kevin this is beneath you. I hope you can apologise to the people of Ukraine fleeing for their lives and join the voices calling for the UK to match what our European friends are offering the oppressed masses of Ukraine.” More

Boris Johnson speaks Russian in address to its citizens amid Ukraine’s invasionVladimir Putin has been met with “greater Ukrainian resistance” than he expected, Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky agreed in a call today.Downing Street said the prime minister paid tribute to the “incredible heroism and bravery” of Ukraine’s leader and its people as the pair “agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially”,The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Russian advance had “temporarily slowed” in part due to resistance from Ukrainian forces.Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Johnson for the UK’s pledge to continue to supply arms to Ukraine’s military. Britain has already sent 2,000 anti-tank missile launchers and was looking to get more weaponry to the country, UK armed forces minister James Heappey said.“We know what the Ukrainians want. We are doing our best to get it to them,” he told Sky News.Meanwhile, British sea, land and air forces were deployed to reinforce Nato’s defences on its eastern flank. Troops are set to arrive in Estonia in the coming days, the MoD said.Show latest update

1645914772‘Very grim days ahead for Ukraine,’ warns JohnsonSpeaking at RAF Brize Norton, Boris Johnson said: “Let’s be in no doubt, things are not going all the way of President Putin, very far from it.“The Ukrainians are fighting heroically, and in some places with great success, as many of us thought they would because they’re a great country and a very brave country.“But as you rightly point out, there are some terrible atrocities being committed and there will be some very grim days ahead for Ukraine.“We’ve got to do everything we can to change the heavy odds that Ukraine faces and to help them, and so that’s why we’re sending humanitarian supplies, we’re sending financial supplies and military supplies as well.“The UK was the first European country to send military aid to Ukraine. Last night, many other countries joined in sending, in pledging to send military assistance, you’re starting to see that grow.”Tom Batchelor26 February 2022 22:321645911016Queen postpones reception at Windsor Castle next weekThe Queen has postponed a diplomatic reception at Windsor that was due to be held on Wednesday.Buckingham Palace said Her Majesty had accepted the foreign secretary’s advice to delay the event, which would have seen her meet hundreds of members of the Diplomatic Corps.It is understood the postponement is because of the conflict in Ukraine.Liam James26 February 2022 21:301645907320Putin has met with ‘greater Ukrainian resistance’ than expected, say Boris Johnson and ZelenskyDowning Street said Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky “agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially” in their call today.In a statement, No 10 said: “The prime minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy this evening.“He paid tribute to the incredible heroism and bravery of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.“The leaders agreed that President Putin is being met with a greater Ukrainian resistance than he calculated on.“The prime minister updated on the UK’s support to Ukraine and the progress rallying international partners to hold Russia to account for their campaign of destruction.“The leaders agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially. They welcomed the increased willingness to take action on excluding Russia from SWIFT.“The prime minister and President Zelenskyy expressed their mutual concern about the role Belarus is playing as a conduit for President Putin’s violence. ”Liam James26 February 2022 20:281645906212Volodymyr Zelensky ‘grateful’ to Boris Johnson for armsUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that he and Boris Johnson spoke on the phone today.In a tweet, he said: “I talked on the phone with @BorisJohnson. “I am grateful to the British Prime Minister for his position, new decisions to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian army. Agreed on further joint steps to counter the aggressor.”The UK today announced it would send more weapons to Ukraine as Kyiv battles against a Russian insurgence. More British troops were also set to bolster Nato’s eastern flank in Estonia.Liam James26 February 2022 20:101645905599Boris Johnson tells Zelensky: ‘Swift ban coming soon’ — PestonThread here from ITV’s Robert Peston on a call between Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the barring of Russia from the Swift global payments scheme.The EU has been discussing the potential sanction in recent days. Germany and Hungary were holding out against it but Hungarian president Viktor Orban earlier signalled he would be willing to support the ban in the name of European unity.Liam James26 February 2022 19:591645903822Priti Patel and David Lammy clash on Twitter over visa rulesHome secretary Priti Patel admonished David Lammy on Twitter for what she called “appalling misinformation” on UK visa rules for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian assault on their country. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary said it was “totally immoral” for the Home Office to apply normal visa rules to Ukrainian citizens during the invasion.But Ms Patel said this was “simply untrue”. Shortly after their spat, the Home Office replied with a list of visa rules to a tweet from Andrew Neil that signalled agreement with Mr Lammy.The UK has stopped accepting visa applications from Ukrainians stuck in the country, meaning there is no safe and legal route for them to seek asylum in Britain unless they have British relatives.Ukrainians must reach a neighbouring country in order to apply for a visa for Britain.Ms Patel has announced visa concessions for Ukrainians who are already in Britain for work, study or tourism, extending the time period before they must leave the country.But there has been no announcement of a resettlement scheme or other measures in response to an expected exodus of refugees, despite offers of help from numerous other countries.Liam James26 February 2022 19:301645902486Breaking: Roman Abromavich hands over stewardship of Chelsea FC Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has handed over the reins of the Stamford Bridge side to the club’s foundation.MPs this week called on the government to impose sanctions on the Russian national over his links to the government in Moscow.We will bring you more on this as we hear it:Liam James26 February 2022 19:081645901802Russia moves weapons capable of inflicting mass casualties into position, claim intelligence officialsLatest dispatch from Kim Sengupta in Kyiv:Russian forces attempting to storm Kyiv and other main cities are being reinforced after meeting fierce resistance with large numbers of troops and heavy weaponry capable of inflicting massive casualties, according to Western intelligence analysts.The Ukrainian capital is said to be the destination for two Russian armies – the 41st Combined Arms Army (CAA) and the 1st Guards Tank Army – as part of an encirclement operation from three sides with a fourth one being considered.Western officials have expressed deep concern that frustration at a long delay in capturing Kyiv may lead to Vladimir Putin ordering the use of weapons capable of causing huge loss of lives including thermobaric missiles.Liam James26 February 2022 18:561645901114Prince William and Kate Middleton ‘stand with people of Ukraine’ amid Russian invasionPrince William and Kate Middleton have said they “stand with Ukraine’s people” following the Russian invasion.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sent a message showing solidarity with Ukranians from their official social media account on Saturday.“In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine’s future,” the royal couple said.“Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future.”They signed off with an emoji of the Ukranian flag and “W & C”.Liam James26 February 2022 18:451645899614Starmer says oligarch sanctions could be passed ‘very, very quickly’Sir Keir Starmer urged the government to come forward with legislation to expose Russian oligrachs who hide their wealth by buying up property in the UK as quickly as possible.Announcing the UK sanctions package in the Commons on Thursday, Boris Johnson said ministers would set out measures before Easter for a register of overseas property ownership.Following reports that the government was preparing to fasttrack the legislation, Sir Keir said Labour would support such a move.“The government says it is bringing forward primary legislation. My message to them is ‘Get on with it’. We will fully support it,” he in a pooled clip for broadcasters during a visit to Birmingham.“It can go through Parliament very, very quickly. We have been calling for this legislation to break open companies to see who the real beneficiaries are for years.“This will now go through because we will support it but it won’t be enforced for months to come so I am frustrated that it has taken this long for the government to come forward.”Liam James26 February 2022 18:20 More

Boris Johnson will “imminently” impose sanctions directly targeting Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in response to the Ukraine invasion, No 10 has announced.It comes after the UK government imposed asset freezes on Russian banks, airlines and oligarchs close to the Kremlin on Thursday in response to military offensive in the eastern European country.After a call with Nato leaders to discuss the latest situation, a Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister told members that Putin was “engaging in a revanchist mission to over-turn post-Cold War order”.“He warned the group that the Russian president’s ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences,” No 10 said.Stepping up UK sanctions – after the latest tranche was announced on Thursday – the spokesperson said Mr Johnson would “introduce sanctions against president Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov imminently”.EU states agreed to freeze any European assets of Putin and Lavrov on Friday, after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for more forceful action to punish back against Russia’s invasion.“It’s a politically important signal,” a senior EU diplomat told Reuters, referring to the decision to target the Kremlin’s senior figures.One EU official said that the latest round of sanctions would be followed by another that may target “many more” Russian oligarchs. “We are moving as quickly as we can,” the official said.It comes as foreign secretary Liz Truss told MPs that government moves to sanction Russian oligarchs are being “held up” by law firms based on London, according to a senior backbencher.Labour MP Ben Bradshaw revealed details from a briefing to parliamentarians on Friday, as the government comes under pressure to hit more kleptocrats with links to Putin’s regime.Mr Bradshaw told The Independent: “She was talking about why we weren’t going faster on sanctioning some of these people.”He added: “She explained that they had to make certain their actions were legally watertight, because of the litigiousness of the London law firms representing these men.”The former Labour minister said it was time for the government to “name and shame” British law firms acting on behalf of oligarchs being targeted for sanctions.“It’s absolutely outrageous – the British public have a right to know which legal firms based here in London are trying to prevent the sanctioning of Putin’s cronies,” said Mr Bradshaw. More

Ukrainian military forces are continuing to offer “strong resistance” to Russian forces attempting to seize cities on the second day of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, according to Western sources.Russian tank units which have entered Ukraine from multiple directions appear to be attempting to encircle capital Kyiv, and there are fears that a bloody and protracted battle for the city may develop with use of indiscriminate violence from the invading forces.After vilification of leading figures of the Ukrainian government as “Nazis” by the Russian president, there is grave concern that individuals such as Volodymyr Zelensky are now targets for special forces infiltrating the city.There are indications of the continued operation of Ukrainian air defences against Russian jets, in a sign that Putin’s key objective of obtaining total dominance of the skies on day one has failed.Western officials are increasingly confident that the Russian mission is falling behind on its timetable for the invasion, with Putin’s forces still confined largely to rural areas while Ukraine concentrates its troops in urban areas in order to mount a determined defence against the expected assault.But there are concerns that if they find themselves frustrated in their efforts to swiftly overwhelm the cities, invading force commanders may resort to indiscriminate use of artillery or “thermobaric” high-temperature weapons with the potential for mass civilian casualties.The UK’s chief of defence intelligence Lt-Gen James Hockenhull told reporters: “Russian forces continue to advance on two axes towards Kyiv. Their objective is to encircle the capital, to secure control of the population and change the regime.“Russia continues to conduct strikes across Ukraine. Overnight, Russia launched a concerted series of strikes on targets in Kyiv. Rocket launchers have been employed in Chernihiv and Kharkiv.“Ukrainian armed forces continue to offer strong resistance focusing on the defence of key cities throughout Ukraine.”As the second day of the invasion drew to an end, Ukrainian forces retain control of all the country’s major cities. While Russian forces progress towards Kyiv from the north and east, key Hostomel airfield north of the capital has changed hands several times over the past 36 hours amid significant fighting.The bulk of the invading force is still around 50km away from Kyiv, but there have been some reports of clashes in the northern suburbs as well as indications that Russian special forces and saboteur units are engaging with Ukrainian troops in the outskirts of the city. So far, it has appeared that Russian troops are reluctant to leave their armoured vehicles to engage in “unmounted infantry” fighting which would leave them more vulnerable to Ukrainian troops.Ukrainian forces have mounted delaying operations both by engaging with the Russian columns and by blowing up bridges on key routes through the country.Fighting has been reported along the “line of contact” marking the borders of rebel-held breakaway republics in the eastern Donbass region, as well as around the city of Kherson and the Black Sea port of Mariupol, which is reported to have seen amphibious landings by Russian troops.Russian forces which entered Ukraine from occupied Crimea to the south are moving northwards towards Melitapol with a view to link up with troops pushing in from the east.One Western official said that Ukrainian resistance had been stiffened by the unity shown by the country’s political and financial elites.“It’s notable that we’ve seen a real strengthening of Ukrainian political unity and seen that the political system and the individuals of high net wealth have come together,” said the official. “That unity is undoubtedly helping in terms of keeping the focus on the Ukrainian military seeking to offer that strong resistance, which they’re able to do in some of those key cities at the moment.”The official said it was increasingly apparent that the invasion was not proceeding according to the plans laid down by Putin, who was expecting a swift and relatively bloodless victory.“From our understanding of Russia’s plans, it’s clear that their intent certainly was, in their planning, to move as quickly as they possibly could,” said the official.“The conflict in in the Ukraine is the choice of President Putin. It was his choice to do this. The problem now is that having committed himself in the way that he has, this is now not a war of choice for him, but a war of necessity. “He will see this as that he must win this conflict. And my fear is that in order to win that conflict, he would resort to any means necessary with the force he has assembled in the Ukraine. “And if we do end up with significant urban fighting, then I have a significant concern for the way in which Russia would use sort of indiscriminate force.” More

Government buildings in London have been flying the Ukrainian flag in a symbol of solidarity following the invasion of the country by Vladimir Putin’s Russian army.The distinctive pale blue and yellow colours fluttered above famous locations ranging from 10 Downing Street to the Thames-side HQ of secret intelligence service MI6 from Thursday evening.And both of these venues were lit up with the Ukrainian national colours last night.Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said the move was an “expression of solidarity” with the people of Ukraine.The Home Office also shared a photo of the flag flying over its Whitehall HQ on Friday. “Today we’re flying Ukraine’s flag in support of the Ukrainian people, including those here in the UK,” said the department.The flag of Ukraine was also raised outside the Scottish Government’s HQ at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh.The combination of blue and yellow as a symbol of the Ukrainian homeland stems from the 12th century flag of the kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia.It has been used as a national flag since 1848, when it was raised above the town hall of Lviv, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.The bicolour flag was officially adopted as a state flag for the first time in 1918 by the short-lived Ukrainian People’s Republic, but was outlawed under the Soviet Union.It was officially restored as the national flag in 1992 following Ukrainian independence.Many landmarks around the world have been lighting up in Ukraine’s colours to show their solidarity with the country.The Colosseum in the Italian capital Rome and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin were illuminated with yellow and blue. More

Keir Starmer has stepped up his fight with Young Labour activists who attacked his backing for Nato in the Ukraine crisis, by scrapping their annual conference.The party’s youth wing is also having its funding slashed – and access to its Twitter account has been restricted for breaches of acceptable “standards of behaviour”.The move comes after David Lammy, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, condemned the “lazy knee-jerk” anti-Americanism of young people he described as “just out of university”.A statement on the Twitter feed reads: “The account has recently become actively detrimental to the Party’s core objectives: to promote Labour candidates and policies, and to win elections.”“Young Labour is supposed to be a place for younger members to get away from factional rubbish,” a Labour source told the Daily Mirror.The stance was criticised as bullying by Jess Barnard, the group’s chair, who also warned it will drive young people away from Labour.“It is important that young members are not bullied into silence and we will continue to push for a democratic and autonomous Young Labour,” she said.“We fear this move will have the effect of encouraging young members to leave the party ahead of the Young Labour and Labour Students elections this summer.”Momentum, the group set up to support Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, also attacked a “shameful and anti-democratic attack on young members within Labour”“This is a blatantly factional move designed to silence critics of Labour’s direction under Starmer, exploiting a moment of global crisis,” the group said.“It’s also a recipe for disaster, as Starmer is set to further alienate the younger voters who are a key pillar of Labour’s core support.”The Independent has been told that the conference will not go ahead and that funding for Young Labour has been reduced.In tweets earlier this month, the Labour leader was condemned for “celebrating” closer cooperation by Nato while “attacking Stop The War and other pro-peace activists”.“Nato’s acts of aggression both historical and present are a threat to all of our safety,” Young Labour claimed.“Stoking up tension, macho posturing & trying to ‘out do’ the Tories on hawkish foreign policy will only lead to further devastation, loss of life and displacement of people across the world.”Young Labour – which all members under 26 join automatically – went on to “offer solidarity with those organising against this, including members of Stop the War”.On Thursday, 11 left-wing Labour MPs who signed a Stop The War Coalition statement criticising Nato withdrew their names, after being threatened with removal of the party whip. More

In talks with Nato leaders this afternoon, Boris Johnson is to renew his call for Russia to be excluded from a crucial international bank transfer system.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western powers to act immediately to lock Russia out of the Swift system, which would place a significant barrier to its oil and gas industries receiving payments from abroad.The move was included in the package of sanctions unveiled by Mr Johnson on Thursday, but has been resisted by Germany and Italy, with France also expressing reservations. The UK cannot go ahead without the agreement of partners in the Belgian-based system.Mr Johnson failed in a bid to secure agreement on the measure in talks with G7 leaders on Thursday, but will pursue the issue again in a conference call with Nato allies today, said Downing Street.Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was ready to “work all day” to secure Russian exclusion, but said the measure could not be taken by Britain acting alone.“We want it switched off. Other countries do not,” he told the BBC. “We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy, the prime minister is going to address the Nato leaders summit today.”A spokesperson for chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, Steffen Hebestreit, said on Friday that Russian suspension would be technically difficult and would have a massive impact on transactions for Germany and German businesses in Russia.The Swift system is a global messaging network used by almost all financial institutions worldwide to wire sums of money to each other and is a cornerstone of the international payments system.But there are concerns in capitals including Washington that Moscow could respond to exclusion by joining a parallel system being developed by China which is not tied to US dollars.US president Joe Biden has played down the need to block Russia from Swift, saying that while it is “always” an option, “right now that’s not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.” “The sanctions we’ve imposed exceed Swift,” said Biden. “Let’s have a conversation in another month or so to see if they’re working.” A Downing Street spokesperson played down the rapid rebound of Russian stock markets, which saw shares gain 15 per cent after a nosedive on Thursday as the invasion of Ukraine began.“As the prime minister said yesterday, the sanctions will deal a severe blow to the Russian economy,” said the spokesperson. “As much as £250bn was wiped off the Russian stock market yesterday, which is the biggest one-day decline on record.“Already, because of the actions, the rouble has reached record lows and blocking access to clearing services will send a shock to the banking system and the Russian economy.“What we’ve seen is one of the most severe packages of sanctions on any major economy that we’ve ever seen.” More

In talks with Nato leaders this afternoon, Boris Johnson is to renew his call for Russia to be excluded from a crucial international bank transfer system.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western powers to act immediately to lock Russia out of the Swift system, which would place a significant barrier to its oil and gas industries receiving payments from abroad.The move was included in the package of sanctions unveiled by Mr Johnson on Thursday, but has been resisted by Germany and Italy, with France also expressing reservations. The UK cannot go ahead without the agreement of partners in the Belgian-based system.Mr Johnson failed in a bid to secure agreement on the measure in talks with G7 leaders on Thursday, but will pursue the issue again in a conference call with Nato allies today, said Downing Street.Defence secretary Ben Wallace said Britain was ready to “work all day” to get Swift turned off for Russia, but stressed that this can only be done with the agreement of all partners in the system. “We want it switched off. Other countries do not,” he told the BBC. We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy, the prime minister is going to address the Nato leaders summit today.”A spokesperson for chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, Steffen Hebestreit , said on Friday that Russian suspension would be technically difficult and would have a massive impact on transactions for Germany and German businesses in Russia.The Swift system is a global messaging network used by almost all financial institutions worldwide to wire sums of money to each other and is a cornerstone of the international payments system.But there are concerns in capitals including Washington that Moscow could respond to exclusion by joining a parallel system being developed by China which is not tied to US dollars.US president Joe Biden has played down the need to block Russia from Swift, saying that while it is “always” an option, “right now that’s not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.” “The sanctions we’ve imposed exceed Swift,” said Biden. “Let’s have a conversation in another month or so to see if they’re working.” More