Ukraine invasion only the beginning, Zelensky warns

Picture courtesy: Reuters

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was just the beginning - and Moscow has ambitions to capture other nations.

"We are the first in line. And who will come next?" Zelensky says in his regular overnight address

It comes after the senior commander was quoted in state media saying Moscow would seek to seize southern Ukraine before opening a route to a region of Moldova. Moldova summons Russia's ambassador, expresses "deep concern" about the comments.

Speaking during his tour of India, Boris Johnson warned there is a "realistic possibility" that the war in Ukraine could drag on for a long period. The prime minister accepted a Western intelligence assessment that suggests the conflict will continue for most of 2022 and end with a victory for President Putin.

And while the security situation is improving in Kyiv the UK will reopen its embassy in Kyiv.

On Friday, a Russian general said Moscow wants to seize all of southern and eastern Ukraine as a new phase of the invasion commences.

This plan involves capturing the entire Donbas region, linking up with the Crimea peninsula, and controlling land that stretches as far as a breakaway Russian-occupied region of Moldova.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday and Zelensky in Kyiv later in the week.