British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday February condemned "barbaric airstrikes carried out by Russia" against civilians in Ukraine, during an interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read alsoThree maps to understand the weight of Russia in the trade of European countries
During that phone conversation, "
the leaders categorically condemned Russia's barbaric airstrikes against innocent civilians, including children
," Downing Street said in a statement.
The head of the British government pledged to send more military aid to Kiev “
in the hours and days to come
”.
At least 11 people were killed in shelling of residential areas in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, on the Russian border, according to local authorities.
The UN on Monday gave a tally of 102 civilians killed, including seven children, and 304 injured, since the start of the invasion, but warned that the true figures were "
significantly
" higher.
Vladimir Putin made 'a colossal mistake'
The British Prime Minister, who will travel to Poland and Estonia on Tuesday, met his Council of Ministers on Monday morning to discuss the measures announced in recent days against Moscow, believing that Vladimir Putin had made "
a colossal mistake
" and undervalued at both Ukrainian resistance and Western unity, according to his spokesperson.
These British sanctions, which specifically target the Russian president and since Monday the Russian central bank, "
are designed to bring down Putin's regime
," said the spokesperson.
Asked about these remarks, he then seemed to backtrack: “
We are not looking for anything in terms of regime change.
What is clearly at issue here is how we stop Russia
".
Downing Street later clarified that he misspoke.
These remarks come after a series of heated exchanges between Moscow and London.
Boris Johnson last week called Vladimir Putin a "
dictator
".
On Monday, the Kremlin explained that the alert of the nuclear force had been decided by Vladimir Putin in reaction to remarks by the head of British diplomacy Liz Truss on possible clashes between Russia and NATO.
The latter had declared on Sunday: "
If we do not stop Putin in Ukraine, we will see other countries threatened, the Baltic States, Poland, Moldova and this could end in a conflict with NATO
".
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