British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Ukraine Tuesday and warned that the Eastern European nation faces a “clear and present danger” of a Russian invasion — which he predicted would be met with “bloody resistance.”

“Someone said, ‘Were we exaggerating the threat; the US and UK are trying to big this up,'” Johnson said during a news conference alongside Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. “That’s not the intelligence we are seeing. It’s a clear and present danger.”

The British prime minister went on to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to undermine the post-Cold War European order and insisted that the West had sanctions ready to be put in place “the moment the first Russian toecap crosses further into Ukrainian territory.”

Zelensky has attempted in recent days to play down the threat posed by the estimated 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern border, suggesting last week that Western nations were instilling “panic” by saying an incursion could be imminent.

However, the Ukrainian leader said Tuesday that any conflict between Moscow and Kiev “is not going to be a war between Ukraine and Russia.

“This is going to be a European war, a fully-fledged war,” Zelensky added.

Johnson said it was important to convey to the world that Ukraine’s forces would fight fiercely against any incursion. 

“Parents, mothers in Russia should reflect on that fact,” he said. “I hope President Putin steps back from that conflict and engages in dialogue.”

Johnson added that he planned to speak Wednesday with Putin, whom he said was trying to “impose a new Yalta, new zones of influence,” a reference to the 1945 agreement between the Allied powers at the end of World War II. 

“And it would not just be Ukraine that was drawn back into the Russian sphere of influence,” Johnson said. “You have to think about Georgia and Moldova and other countries.”

Putin had been scheduled to speak with Johnson by phone on Monday, but the Kremlin said that call had been pushed to Wednesday after Johnson was forced to make a statement in Parliament responding to a report on parties held at his residence during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Earlier Tuesday, Zelensky had told his country’s parliament that he was working on a three-way partnership between his nation, the UK and Poland to deter the threat from Moscow. 

“We are creating a new format of political cooperation in Europe,” said Zelensky, who welcomed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Kiev on the same day that Johnson arrived. 

“This is a moment in which all of Europe and the Western world must unite around the cause of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” said Morawiecki, who vowed Poland would assist Ukraine by sending gas, weapons and humanitarian and economic aid.

“Living close to a neighbor like Russia, we have the feeling of living at the foot of a volcano,” the Polish PM added.

The partnership could serve as a first step for Ukraine joining NATO — a scenario that Putin adamantly opposes.

Also Tuesday, Zelensky signed a decree that would add 100,000 troops to Ukraine’s armed forces over three years. 

Ukraine currently has about 250,000 troops in its military, compared to Russia’s 900,000. 

Zelensky said the move was made “not because we will soon have a war … but so that soon and in the future there will be peace in Ukraine.”

With Post wires