London, Mar 30 (AP) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Western nations shouldn't lift sanctions on Russia until all Moscow's troops have left Ukraine.

Johnson said a cease fire would not be enough, and the G-7 should “intensify sanctions with a rolling program until every single one of (President Vladimir Putin's) troops is out of Ukraine.”

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Speaking to a committee of British lawmakers on Wednesday, Johnson also said Britain was discussing “going up a gear” in support to help Ukraine defend itself. He said sending armoured personnel carriers was something the U.K. was “looking at.”

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The U.K. has sent anti-tank weapons and other military equipment to Ukraine but wants to avoid anything that could be seen as escalating the conflict.

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Bratislava: Slovakia's Foreign Ministry says it has decided to reduce the Russian diplomatic mission in the country by 35 people.

The ministry said on Wednesday the Russian side was informed about the move in a diplomatic note.

“The given step is an inevitable reaction to the continuing activities of the Russian embassy's personnel that violate the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, Slovakia's interests and an effort to develop partnership relations with the Russian Federation,” the ministry said.

Slovakia already expelled three Russian diplomats two weeks ago over a spying scandal.

At least four European allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday, an apparent coordinated effort to tackle espionage.

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Washington: U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about Russian forces' performance in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the recently declassified intelligence finding, said that Putin has felt misled by the Russian military and there is now persistent tension between him and senior Russian defense officials.

The official did not detail underlying evidence for how U.S. intelligence made the determination.

But the intel community has concluded that Putin was unaware that the military had been using and losing conscripts in Ukraine.

They also have determined Putin is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is being damaged by economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and allies.

The findings demonstrate a “clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information” to Putin, and show that Putin's senior advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)