THE HARD PART IS TRICKING HIM INTO INVADING:

At the crucial gathering in Munich, Johnson warned of a protracted battle after any invasion that Russia could not contain.

He said: "A lightning war would be followed by a long and hideous period of reprisals and revenge and insurgency, and Russian parents would mourn the loss of young Russian soldiers, who in their way are every bit as innocent as the Ukrainians now bracing themselves for attack.

"If Ukraine is overrun by brute force, I fail to see how a country encompassing nearly a quarter of a million square miles - the biggest nation in Europe apart from Russia itself - could then be held down and subjugated for ever."

Tweet   @brothersjudd