Liz Truss today warned that the Ukraine crisis may continue for years, adding: “We need to be prepared for a very long haul.”
The UK foreign secretary said she feared Russian president Vladimir Putin was willing to use the “most unsavoury means” to obtain his objective.
Truss warned the war could become “very bloody” and escalate into a conflict with Nato.
And in remarkable comments, Truss also suggested she would back Brits who want to fight in Ukraine.
Speaking to Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, she said: “We’ve already seen the response from the Russian government, we’ve seen the actions taken despite all of the warnings about the severe cost of this conflict in terms of humanitarian costs, in terms of cost for the Russian state.
“This could all be the beginning of the end for Putin and I fear that he is determined to use the most unsavoury means in this war.
“But he should be aware that the International Criminal Court is already looking at what is happening in Ukraine and there will be serious consequences for him personally and for the Russian government.”
“This could all be the beginning of the end for Putin and I fear that he is determined to use the most unsavoury means in this war.”
- UK foreign secretary Liz Truss
Her comments follow warnings by Western officials that Russian forces are prepared to “indiscriminately” use thermobaric bombs to seize control of Ukraine.
It also comes amid reports that Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv.
Air raid sirens have been going off in Kyiv this morning and the Ukrainian president has rejected negotiations with Russia in Belarus - saying the country has been used for attacks.
Meanwhile, Western countries have agreed to remove some Russian banks from the Swift international banking system.
The UK foreign office is also preparing a “hit list” of oligarchs to sanction, with Truss warning kleptocrats: “We will come after you.”
Last week Boris Johnson announced what he described as the “largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen”.
Eight oligarchs have been hit with asset freezes and travel bans, along with more than 100 individuals, entities and subsidiaries. Although, critics are pushing the government to go further.
Over in Ukraine, huge numbers of people have continued to flee for neighbouring countries, including Poland and Moldova.
The UK is under pressure to rip up bureaucracy to provide sanctuary for those fleeing the region.
The number of people fleeing Ukraine has reached 368,000, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said the visa restrictions for those seeking sanctuary in the UK from Ukraine were “totally unacceptable”.
He called for a simplified refugee programme, saying the current one was “bureaucratic” and had a “lot of red tape”.
Lammy added: “It’s insisting that people demonstrate salaries, that they have family ties in this country. People are fleeing with their children in their arms. Why would you ask people how rich they are to enter our country?”
Former Tory Cabinet ministers, including George Osborne and Rory Stewart, are also among those urging the government to act.
Truss said the government was “urgently” looking at what more it could do to enable refugees from the fighting in Ukraine to come to Britain.
“It is a desperate situation,” she told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme.
“Of course, Britain has always welcomed refugees fleeing from war and we are urgently looking at what more we can do to facilitate that.”