Vladimir Putin could use 'the most unsavoury means' to secure victory in Ukraine says Liz Truss

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned that President Vladimir Putin could use “the most unsavoury means” in order to secure victory in Ukraine.

With the Russian advance on Kyiv apparently slowed, Ms Truss said she feared Moscow could use “even worse weapons” to break the Ukrainian resistance.

“This could well be the beginning of the end for Putin. I fear that he is prepared to use the most unsavoury means in this war,” she told Sky News.

“He should be aware the International Criminal Court is already looking at what is happening in Ukraine. There will be serious consequences for him and for the Russian government.”

Asked about Russia’s arsenal of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons, she said: “I fear this conflict could be very, very bloody.

“I urge the Russians not to escalate this conflict but we do need to be prepared for Russia to seek to use even worse weapons. I think it would be hugely devastating.

“We need to avoid this at all costs. This is why it is so important, the work we are doing to degrade the Russian military complex.”

Furthermore, Truss said the Government is drawing up a “hit list” of Russian oligarchs associated with Vladimir Putin to be targeted with sanctions.

Ms Truss confirmed: “This week we will be introducing the Economic Crime Bill which will create a lot more transparency around the structure of these companies and make it much clearer what is going on.

“There are over 100 billionaires in Russian. We have compiled a hit list of oligarchs. We are working through and putting the cases together, and every few weeks we will sanction new oligarchs.

“We will go through the hit list. We will be targeting oligarchs’ private jets, we will be targeting their properties, we will be targeting other possessions that they have and there will be nowhere to hide.”