Raab: Conflict to last months, if not years, talk of Russian nuclear escalation ‘rhetoric and brinkmanship’ (Update 2)

The conflict in Ukraine is set to last months, if not years, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday, adding international allies would need to show “strategic stamina” to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin fails.

“Our mission with our allies is to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine, and it’s going to take some time – we’re talking about months, if not years – and therefore we have to show some strategic stamina, because this is not going to be over in days,” Raab told Sky News.

Raab described talk of an increased threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine as rhetoric and brinkmanship.

“I think its rhetoric and brinkmanship,” he told Sky News when asked about a possible nuclear escalation by the Kremlin.

“(Putin’s) got a track record as long as anyone’s arm of misinformation and propaganda … this is a distraction from what the real issues are at hand – which is that it’s an illegal invasion and it is not going according to plan.”

He rejected Putin’s statement from Saturday that likened the West’s sanction’s to a declaration of war. Read full story

“Sanctions are not an act of war, international law is very clear about that,” he said. “Our sanctions are entirely both legally justified, but also proportionate to what we’re trying to deal with.”

He also called on China and India to help increase diplomatic pressure on Russia.

“China has got a job here. They’ve got to step up as well – this is a permanent member of Security Council – and India as well. We need to expand the diplomatic pressure,” Raab said.