Z-DAY IN EUROPE
Russia launches ‘Operation Z’ as tanks & trucks marked with symbol come within six miles of the Ukrainian border
A RUSSIAN invasion force aboard tanks and armoured vehicles marked with a letter “Z” was rumbling towards Ukraine’s border today.
In yet another ominous sign of looming war, vehicles were understood to have been marked with distinctive white letter inside a square box to avoid friendly fire once action begins.
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It mirrors UK and US tactics in the First Gulf War when the allied invasion forces sent to liberate Kuwait marked vehicles with a distinctive upturned chevron.
A military source in Ukrainian capital Kyiv told The Sun yesterday: “It would suggest final preparations are complete.
“It’s vital that any attacking force can be distinguished, particularly from the air where Russian forces will have complete control.
“The Ukrainians have very similar tanks and vehicles and will want to reduce the risk of friendly fire.”
Videos taken from near the border show the markings on Russian tanks, self-propelled guns, fuel trucks and supply vehicles.
Sources said military hardware marked “Z” was between six and 25 miles from the border as a fighting force of more than 200,000 troops ringed Ukraine to the north south and east.
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Diplomatic sources in Kyiv told The Sun yesterday that it was now “widely understood” that ruthless Vladimir Putin had already decided to launch a bloody and catastrophic invasion.
Videos posted on social media yesterday showed the “Z” markings on tanks, self-propelled guns, fuel trucks and supply vehicles.
The tagged invasion columns were on the move as Russia broke a pledge to withdraw its forces from northern neighbour Belarus after 10 days of exercises yesterday.
Chief of Belarusian General Staff Alexander Volfovich insisted no such promise had ever been made - and revealed the “exercise” had been extended until tomorrow
It comes as the world waits with bated breath to see what Russia will do next - after signs show that plans to invade Ukraine have "already begun."
It comes as:
- Boris Johnson warns the Russian invasion of Ukraine would "biggest war since 1945"
- Videos continue to show Russian armour moving - with a new clip showing 200 tanks on the march near Ukraine
- Putin could drop his 44 ton Father of All Bombs weapon in a blitz of Ukraine
- It was warned the UK is fighting with "one hand tied" against a resurgent Russia and China
- Britain has moved its embassy in Kyiv some 336 miles away as the tensions rage
- Pro-Russian rebels ordered an evacuation from the Donbas - accusing Ukraine of planning an attack
It comes amid reports of explosions rocking Donetsk on Saturday night.
Putin is feared to be massing a force of up to 200,000 soldiers, supported by tanks, artillery and armoured vehicles on the edge of the former Soviet state.
Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads ever since Kyiv began to grow closer to the West - leading Russia to annexing Crimea in 2014 and stoking separatists to take up arms in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine.
And all eyes are now are now on the relatively small region, which is currently under the control of two pro-Russian rebel groups, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).
The fact is that all the signs are that the plan has already, in some senses, begun
Boris Johnson
Shelling has been reported across the region as Ukraine, Russia and the separatists point fingers at each other over the clashes.
There have been reports of artillery shells falling within Russia's borders, at least two of Ukrainian soldiers being killed, and loud explosions heard throughout the Donbas.
Both separatist groups ordered mass evacuations on Friday as they accused Ukraine of planning a wide scale attack - including alleging Kyiv was going to blow up a chemical plant.
And now both have also declared the "full mobilisation" of their military forces.
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It is feared that Putin could use the rising chaos in the Donbas as pretext to move in his troops.
Western intelligence officials have repeatedly suggested that Vlad could use a "false flag" - a staged attack or threat to give them an excuse to invade.
Russia has also been stoking accusations of "genocide", with Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claiming that life in the Donbas is “hell” for ethnic Russians.
In a new suspected stunt, the pro-Moscow rebel authority in Donetsk claimed to have detained a Ukrainian spy who was said to be confessing to Kyiv’s aims to overrun the Donbas.
Named Anton Matsanyuk, he “confirmed that Kyiv intends to use all its strike power in the forcible seizure of the Donbas," said a report.
The alleged saboteur conveniently confirmed a plan touted in recent days by Russia of a Ukrainian plan to invade Donetsk and Luhansk.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that Russia is planning the "biggest war in Europe since 1945" as Putin intends to "invade and encircle Kyiv."
Asked if he believes a Russian invasion is imminent, Mr Johnson told the BBC: "I'm afraid that that is what the evidence points to, there's no burnishing it.
"The fact is that all the signs are that the plan has already, in some senses, begun."
The PM also warned Putin that he faces decades of "bloodshed and misery" if his troops invade Ukraine.
And NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said: "Every indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine.
"We all agree that the risk of an attack is very high."
Yesterday, Mr Johnson told world leaders that an invasion of Ukraine by Russia is now looking "increasingly likely" according to intelligence - and later said the attack appears to already be "in motion".
"If Ukraine is invaded, the shock will echo around the world," said the PM in a chilling warning during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
Asked whether he agreed with the US assessment that the Russian leader had made up his mind to attack the capital city Kyiv, he told broadcasters: "I think certainly things are in motion.
"But the question is whether it can all be pulled back, and whether the president of Russia is still able to call this operation off."
He added: "Imagine the invasion of Ukraine, a country of 45 million people, the second biggest country in Europe geographically apart from Russia itself - an absolutely colossal place.
"You can't hold it down. There will be a protracted, violent, bloody insurgency with the loss of life for young Russians, as well as for Ukrainians."
Boris insisted there is still time for a diplomatic solution, and said an invasion would be a "crazy, disastrous venture" for Russia.
The West has "got to hope and believe" that Vladimir Putin can still be dealt with rationally, Boris said.
And he warned violence from Moscow against Ukraine will "truly test" Nato but stopped short of saying alliance forces should directly intervene.
He warned an attack by Putin would bring about the "destruction of a democratic state".
The PM also pledged more sanctions on Russia if Putin invades and pledged to take down Russian money in London.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky also met with Boris, and himself gave a speech - calling on NATO members to be honest about whether they wanted Kyiv to join the alliance.
The 44-year-old leader received a standing ovation before starting remarks in which he called on the world to learn the "terrible lessons from history" and chided the international community for what he said was the appeasing of Russia.
"The rules that the world agreed on decades ago no longer work. They do not keep up with new threats. Not effective for overcoming them. This is a cough syrup when you need a coronavirus vaccine," he said.
Elsewhere, US President Biden said he is convinced that Putin has decided to invade Ukraine.
Biden said that the invasion would come in the next week or days - but left the door open for a diplomatic resolution.
"Russia has a choice between war and all the suffering it will bring or diplomacy that will make a future for everyone," Biden said at the White House Friday.
The United States said that with an estimated 149,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's borders - as many as 190,000, when including the Russian-backed separatist forces - an attack is inevitable.
The Russians have never given a figure for the deployment along the border with Ukraine nor how many are taking part in ongoing drills with neighbouring Belarus.
Compounding fears, Putin personally oversaw previously scheduled drills involving missile launches on Saturday.
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