The Foreign Office has issued a huge new warning for Britons travelling to Ukraine following “intensified” Russian military activity over the past three months. The FCDO advises against all travel to Crimea, and within 50km of the border with Belarus in the Volyn, Rivne, and Zhytomyr regions due to the ongoing presence of Russian and Belarusian military and security personnel on the Belarusian side of the border.
Almost all other regions of Ukraine are under the same warning, except Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, and Lviv in the west of the country. The FCDO adds: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is ongoing, with frequent missile and drone attacks across the country, which injure and kill civilians and cause significant damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential areas, energy, industrial, rail and related facilities.
“British nationals are advised to exercise heightened awareness and be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced. Be extra vigilant whilst travelling in urban centres.
“There is an ongoing risk of harm to British nationals from Russian attacks across all of Ukraine, including from missiles and drones that hit unintended targets or from falling debris.
“While these are more frequent where FCDO advises against all travel, they can and do also happen in the western regions, where FCDO advice is against all but essential travel.”
This comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready to halt its strikes on Russian territory if allies can secure a genuine Russian commitment not to hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
His comments came after Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that Russia and Ukraine had agreed “not to hit” each other’s energy infrastructure, though he did not offer further details on the purported agreement.
The Ukrainian President said: “Every day, Ukrainian energy facilities, port infrastructure, logistics, even food and pharmaceutical warehouses become targets.
“The war must be ended. And a de-escalation step regarding critical infrastructure could be a first step toward peace.” He said he “expects concrete proposals from our partners”.
The US President did not offer further details about the agreement, but it comes a day after he called on his Ukrainian counterpart to stop targeting Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel.
He claims the attacks are causing a global shortage. Diesel prices have surged in the US, and high fuel costs associated with the Iran war have become a major issue for the Republican party.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
