The next few days could be the most dangerous moment in Europe’s biggest security crisis for decades as Russia stages war games in Belarus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday, though he believed Moscow had not yet decided whether to invade Ukraine.

“... I think that the combination of sanctions and military resolve, plus diplomacy is what is in order,” he added. Meanwhile, British minister for Europe James Cleverly said the government intended new sanctions legislation to come into force on Thursday, which will enable it to target a broader range of Russian interests in response to aggression in Ukraine.