Britain and its western allies hit Russia
with a wave of new sanctions last night
as President Biden said that President
Putin was preparing to “start a war”.
The American president said intelli-
gence suggested that Russian forces
were moving blood and medical
supplies to the Ukrainian border in
readiness for a full invasion.
He said the United States would
immediately block the Russian govern-
ment from using western financial
markets to raise money. Britain and the
European Union will follow suit.
Western leaders have also signed off
plans to target dozens of Russian
oligarchs and their business interests as
part of an international plan to “ratchet
up” pressure on Putin.
They acted after the Russian presi-
dent ordered troops into two rebel-held
regions of Ukraine on Monday, having
recognised them as independent. Putin
said the troops would be “peace-
keeping” in the breakaway regions, a
claim dismissed by the US as nonsense.
People in the area say tanks have
been regularly travelling into the sepa-
ratist regions from Russia but there was
no evidence of increased military activ-
ity yesterday. President Zelensky of
Ukraine has called up army reservists.
Senior Conservative MPs accused
the government of failing to do enough
after Boris Johnson’s announcement of
a series of limited moves against five
Russian banks linked to the Kremlin
and three billionaires close to Putin.
In The Times today Liz Truss, the for-
eign secretary, writes that the govern-
ment will go further and has identified
“a long list of those complicit in the
actions of the Russian leadership”. She
adds that if Russia refuses to pull back
its troops from the eastern Ukrainian
regions, then the government will
“keep turning up the heat”, targeting
more banks, oligarchs and companies.
In other developments:
6 The Russian parliament gave Putin
the green light to send troops into the
disputed Donbas region of Ukraine,
raising concerns of an all-out invasion.
6 Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor,
blocked the approval of the key Nord
Stream 2 gas pipeline as he accused
Putin of taking “unilateral, incompre-
hensible and unjust action”.
6 Johnson said there was a risk that the
Russian invasion would lead to a
“spike” in energy bills and petrol prices.
6 Moscow said it was evacuating diplo-
matic staff from Kyiv to “protect their
lives”, prompting further fears that
invasion was imminent.
At a press conference in Washington
Biden declared that “none of us should
be fooled”. He said: “Russia has moved
supplies of blood and medical equip-
ment into position on their border. You
don’t need blood unless you plan onstarting a war.” He announced meas-
ures banning the trading of Russian
debt on western markets, a move that
will impede the Kremlin from raising
capital abroad, and said that the US had
plans to sanction “Russia’s elites and
their family members”, which would be
announced today. He said that the
sanctions were only the “first tranche”
and would “escalate if Russia escalates”.
The EU likewise announced a ban on
the trading of Russian debt. Britain said
it would bring forward legislation to
follow suit.
The EU also agreed that 351 mem-
bers of the Russian parliament’s lower
house would be sanctioned as well as a
further “27 individuals and entities who
are playing a role in undermining or
threatening Ukrainian territorial integ-Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Steven Swinford Political Editor
Hugh Tomlinson Washington
Catherine Philp Kyiv
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Wednesday February 23 2022 | thetimes.co.uk | No 73714 2G (based on 7 Day Print Pack)Taganrog
Donbas
regionLUHANSKDONETSKROSTOV
UKRAINE OBLAST50 miles RUSSIARostov-
on-DonSeparatist-controlled
DonbasWest imposes sanctions
as Biden warns of war
rity, sovereignty, and independence”.
As part of the plans agreed between
western leaders, further sanctions will
be imposed over the coming days in
response to Russian actions in Ukraine.
These include banning Russian compa-
nies from raising money on UK, Euro-
pean or American financial markets.
There would also be a prohibition on
western companies selling high-tech
exports to Russia including computers
and infrastructure for the oil and gas
sector.
Sources added that plans were still in
place to deny Russian companies access
to the global electronic payment system
known as Swift. The move would make
it far harder for any Russian firms to
trade outside the country because it is
Continued on page 2, col 3Johnson is
first PM to be
questioned
under caution
George Grylls Political ReporterBoris Johnson has become the first
British prime minister to be questioned
under caution by the police, a leaked
form appeared to confirm last night.
The Metropolitan Police is sending
questionnaires to 88 people accused of
attending lockdown-breaking gather-
ings as part of a criminal investigation
into a dozen held at Downing Street
during 2020 and last year. In the forms,
which are equivalent to a police inter-
view, people are asked to explain and
justify their attendance.
Johnson, 57, has filled out his
questionnaire and returned it to the
police after consulting with a lawyer
hired at his expense. He has argued that
he attended six events, including an
impromptu birthday party and a
gathering in his Downing Street flat, as
part of his working day.
A questionnaire obtained by ITV
News shows that individuals are invited
to respond with “a written statement
under caution”. They are told to list any
“reasonable excuse” that might justify
their presence and are given seven days
to complete the form.
In total, the form asks 12 questions
including:
“Did you participate in a gathering
on a specific date?”
“What was the purpose of your
participation in that gathering?”
“Did you interact with, or undertake
any activity with, other persons present
at the gathering? If yes, please provide
details.”
“What, if any, lawful exception
applied to the gathering and/or what
reasonable excuse did you have for par-
ticipating in the gathering?”
People are given the option of refus-
ing to answer any questions but are
warned that doing so could harm their
defence in a potential court case. They
are told that they can respond either by
filling out the questionnaire or writing
a statement to explain their actions.
An interview under caution is a
formal police interview where what the
suspect says can be used as evidence
against them. They have the right to re-
main silent, or not to answer. It differs
from informal interviews such as ques-
tioning of witnesses.
Tony Blair, the only previous sitting
prime minister to face a police interview,
was questioned as a witness as part of an
investigation into cash for honours in- At the time he said that he would
resign if interviewed under caution.
Labour said that the fact Johnson
faced questioning was embarrassing.
No 10 said: “We have confirmed the
prime minister has been contacted by
the Metropolitan Police. We will not be
commenting further while the investi-
gation is ongoing.”
6 MPs demand tougher British measures 6 Russians preparing for full invasion, says US
Russian troops and armoured vehicles in the Rostov region, which borders the two breakaway territories in eastern UkraineYURI KOCHETKOV/EPA