If a "Single toecap" of a Russian soldier crossed into Nato territory it would mean war, Sajid Javid warned this morning.
The attack on the Yavoriv military base over the weekend raised the possibility of a military confrontation with Moscow due to its proximity to a Nato member.
Javid told LBC's Nick Ferrari: "We've been very clear from the start with our Nato allies that if there is any kind of attack on Nato territory, then it will be war with Nato and, there will be a severe response."We don't ever set out in advance how exactly we would respond.
"Of course, we'd work together with our allies, but let's be very clear, that if a single Russian toecap step into Nato territory, there will be war with Nato." In a later interview, Javid said it was not "Impossible" that Russia would launch an attack on Nato territory, but he thought it would be "Very unlikely".
He also refused to be drawn on whether a chemical weapons attack on Ukraine would also trigger a Nato response, telling Sky News: "Any kind of attack, anything that touches Nato territory or impacts Nato in any significant way, we would respond.
But we don't set that kind of response out in advance." Sir Richard Shirreff, former deputy supreme commander of Nato, said Russia's attack on the Yavoriv military base should serve as a "Wake up call" to Nato.
He told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: "If missiles had landed in Polish territory, Poland is a Nato member and therefore every other Nato member, all 30 member states of Nato, would be obliged to come to Poland's support."
The attack on the Yavoriv base, which has previously been used by Nato to train Ukrainian soldiers, is one of the western-most targets struck by Russia during the invasion.
Zelenskyy, who spoke to Boris Johnson on Sunday, used the attack near the Polish frontier to renew his call for Nato allies to "Close" the skies above Ukraine.
