Boris Johnson to visit region amid rising Russia-Ukraine tensions

Ukrainians drive an armoured personnel carrier near a frontline position in the Luhansk area (Vadim Ghirda/AP)
Boris Johnson will âramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshedâ between Russia and Ukraine with a visit to the region in the coming days amid rising tensions, it is understood.
The British Prime Minister is determined to âaccelerate diplomatic effortsâ during a trip in the coming days and will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin over a phone call.
It comes after he asked defence and security chiefs to consider further defensive military options in Europe during a high-level intelligence briefing on the situation last week.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: âThe Prime Minister is determined to accelerate diplomatic efforts and ramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshed in Europe.
This weekend, the British Prime Minister will consider a range of options to alleviate Russian aggression in the region, including fresh deployments and bolstering Natoâs defences following a Ministry of Defence meeting.
The UK Foreign Office is also expected to announce tougher sanctions on Monday, meaning the UK can target Russiaâs strategic and financial interests.
It comes as Russiaâs foreign minister said Liz Truss has âagreed a dateâ to visit Moscow within the next two weeks.

The British Foreign Secretaryâs visit would be the first to the country since 2017, when Boris Johnson met with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Ms Truss has been forthright in speaking out against Russiaâs threatened invasion of Ukraine, and took the unusual step of declassifying intelligence which suggested President Vladimir Putin was plotting to install a pro-Moscow leader as head of the government in Kyiv.
She told the Commons earlier this month that Russia has âno justification whatsoeverâ for its aggression towards Ukraine.
Earlier, Mr Putin was urged to âde-escalateâ the military build-up on the border of Ukraine as the international community steps up retaliation threats in the event of an invasion.
Mr Biden told Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy there is a âdistinct possibilityâ that Russia could take military action against Ukraine in February.
One of the threats Washington has put on the table is to halt the opening of a key gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, between Russia and western Europe if the Kremlinâs forces advance.
Chris Philp, a minister in the British Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said there is âdeep concernâ about the âunprecedentedâ build-up of Russian troops on the border, particularly after units from the east of Russia redeployed to the region.
âI think it is a very serious situation,â he told Sky News.