THE UK is prepared to deploy troops should Russia invade Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said.

The Prime Minister addressed the growing tensions with MPs today, saying he was ready to impose "heavy economic sanctions" on Russia as a result of its growing military presence on the Ukranian border.

He warned that any invasion would result in “bloodshed comparable to the first war in Chechnya or Bosnia”.

Mr Johnson told the House of Commons: “If Russia pursues this path, many Russian mothers’ sons will not be coming home.

“The response in the international community would be the same and the pain that would be inflicted on the Russian economy will be the same.”

He made an appeal for diplomacy to resolve the tensions and avoid a war that would “earn and would deserve the condemnation of history”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party “stands resolute” in supporting Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss failed to rule out UK combat troops being sent to help defend Ukraine – but told MPs such a scenario is “unlikely”.

Mr Johnson went on to say: “The British Army leads the Nato battle group in Estonia and if Russia invades Ukraine, we would look to contribute to any new Nato deployments to protect our allies in Europe." 

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford asked Mr Johnson whether he could confirm the “banning of Russia from the Swift banking system” was one of the measures considered as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

The Prime Minister said: “There is no doubt that would be a very potent weapon. I’m afraid it can only really be deployed with the assistance of the United States, though we’re in discussions about that." 

Alyn Smith, the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman, said the UK Government had to "get on" with implementing recommendations of various reports to protect the UK from threats.

He said that the SNP would be "part of the coalition in Ukraine's defence", but added: "In that spirit, will the Prime Minister accept the real frustration on this side of the house that his own credibility, the credibility of his own government and all of us has been undermined by continued inaction in implementing Moscow's Gold Report and the Russia report.

"We would support the legislation to strengthen his own credibility. Let's get on with it." 

Mr Johnson disagreed, saying the UK had been "absolutely ruthless in employing Magnitsky sanctions", adding: "They're a great thing and targeted at people involved in the poisoning of Alexi Navalny and we will use direct targeted sanctions against against the Putin regime."

Anum Qaisar, Airdrie and Shotts MP, questioned Mr JOhnson about the impact of the conflict on energy prices and urged him to bring in a package of measures to protect citizens in the UK.

She said: "A percentage of our natural gas comes from Russia and Putin has already said he will turn off the taps if he deems Moscow to be unfairly sanctioned, by the West.

"My constituents in Airdrie and Shotts are already struggling with rising fuel costs.

"Does the Prime Minister accept that he must make a package of policies to help families pay for bills on the domestic front so that that's an international issue does not compound the problem?"

Mr Johnson said Ms Qaisar was "quite right to draw attention to the price spike in energy around the world" but added: "Actually, Russian gas only comprises 3% of the UK gas supplies but what we've got to do is mitigate the impacts on families of the cost of energy with all the cold weather payments, everything that we're doing to increase living wage, all the support that we're giving families throughout throughout the winter and beyond."