Russia-Ukraine crisis: Boris Johnson urges Vladimir Putin to step back from 'edge of precipice'

Vladimir Putin could launch an invasion of Ukraine “almost immediately”, UK leaders have warned, as Boris Johnson urged the Russian president to step back from the “edge of precipice” over the Ukraine crisis.

The Prime Minister warned the “evidence is pretty clear” that Russia was planning an invasion that could take place within 48 hours as he called for Mr Putin to think again.

And Mr Johnson called for a united western sanctions response, saying Europe needed to cuts its reliance on Russian gas supplies, including the Nord Stream pipelines to Germany.

It came as foreign secretary Liz Truss, who chaired a meeting of the UK Government’s Cobra emergency committee, urged Britons to leave Ukraine by commercial routes while they still could because of the risk of an “imminent Russian invasion”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Vladimir Putin to think again during a visit to Rosyth Dockyard near Edinburgh.

Russia has accused the UK and US of a propaganda campaign and insisted it was ready to continue talks.

Speaking to reporters at the Rosyth naval dockyard during his visit to Scotland on Monday, Mr Johnson urged the Russian leader to consider the economic and political consequences if he launched an invasion of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister said “the world needs to learn the lesson of 2014” when not enough was done to move away from Russian gas and oil following the annexation of Crimea.

He said: “This is a very, very dangerous, difficult situation. We are on the edge of a precipice, but there is still time for president Putin to step back.

“What I think all European countries need to do now is get Nord Stream out of the bloodstream – yank out that that hypodermic drip feed of Russian hydrocarbons that is keeping so many European economies going.

“We need to find alternative sources of energy … and get ready to impose some very, very severe economic consequences on Russia.”

The Prime Minister was receiving a briefing on the latest intelligence from the UK’s spy chiefs and has cut short a planned visit to northern England to lead a Cobra meeting on Tuesday.

He said his defence secretary Ben Wallace was “right to say” the West must be united against Russian aggression.

Asked if he agreed with Mr Wallace’s claims there was a “whiff of Munich” and appeasement in actions against Mr Putin so far, Mr Johnson said: “I think the defence secretary is absolutely right to say it’s very important that we’ve got to be strong, and we’ve got to be resolute and we’ve got to be united.