Europe closer to war now, in 70 yrs

New Delhi: James Heappey, the UK's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, said that he believes Europe is closer to war than it has been for 70 years, the BBC reported.

"There are 1,30,000 Russian troops around the borders of Ukraine, thousands more on amphibious shipping in the Black Sea and the Azov Sea," he told the BBC.

"All of the combat enablers are in place and my fear is that if all of this was just about a show to win leverage in diplomacy that doesn't require the logistics, the fuel, the medical supplies, the bridging assets, the unglamorous stuff that actually makes an invasion force credible, but doesn't attract headlines. Yet all of that is now in place too.

"That's why there's real urgency to the diplomatic negotiations that continue," he says.

But he adds there are still "lots of opportunities" for "compromise" and "diplomacy".

Ukraine is calling for a meeting with Russia and other members of a key European security group as tensions grow.

It says Russia has ignored formal requests to explain the build-up of troops, the BBC reported.

Russia has denied plans to invade despite massing 1,00,000 soldiers on Ukraine's borders.

Some nations warn an invasion could be imminent, with the US saying aerial bombardments could begin "at any time". More than a dozen countries have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, and some have pulled embassy staff from the capital, the report said.