British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin might be thinking “illogically” about his initial plans to invade Ukraine, Reuters reported.
In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Johnson said that threats of imposing sanctions onto Russia for the invasion “may not be enough to deter an irrational actor and we have to accept at the moment that Vladimir Putin is possibly thinking illogically about this and doesn’t see the disaster ahead.”
Also Sunday, Johnson also said that the U.K and U.S. could cut Russian companies out of access to their currencies should an invasion by the Russian military occur.
“We are even, with our American friends, going to stop them trading in pounds and dollars,” Johnson told the media outlet. “That will hit very, very hard.”
Russia has consistently denied it will further invade Ukraine despite constant warnings by Western powers in recent weeks that Putin plans to send troops into Kyiv.
British authorities have already stopped Russian companies from raising capital in London, which Johnson referred to as exposing the “Russian doll” of such property and company ownership, Reuters reported.
Russia and Belarus said they would extend military drills that were set to end on Sunday, according to a Belarusian defense official.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said that military leaders from his country and Russia decided to “continue checking” joint force readiness due to “increase in military activity” near the Belarusian border, The Washington Post reported.