Boris Johnson unveils six point plan to target Putin as Raab plays down nuclear threat

The plan includes: 

- Mobilise an international humanitarian coalition for Ukraine

- Support Ukraine in its efforts to provide for its own self-defence

- Maximise the economic pressure on Putin’s regime

- Prevent the creeping normalisation of what Russia is doing in Ukraine

- Pursue diplomatic paths to de-escalation but only on the basis of full participation by the legitimate government of Ukraine 

- Begin a rapid campaign to strengthen security and resilience across the Euro-Atlantic area

Mr Johnson is due to host a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Rutte tomorrow at Downing Street, and on Tuesday will convene a meeting with the V4 group of countries - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the UK's response to help neighbouring countries sheltering most of those who have fled. 

He said: "Putin must fail and must be seen to fail in this act of aggression. It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order – we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force.

“The world is watching. It is not future historians but the people of Ukraine who will be our judge.”

This morning Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab appeared on the broadcast round, where he played down the threat of a nuclear attack from Russia.

Last night Putin said that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West were tantamount to a 'declaration of war'. There have also been reports from Russian media that Ukraine is building a 'dirty nuclear bomb, prompting fears from some that Putin could use this unsubstantiated claim as  a pretext to preparation for a nuclear attack.

However Mr Raab said it was "brinkmanship and rhetoric" from the Russian president, adding: "I think some of the rhetoric around that has been just that.

"I think he’s trying to take the conversation away from the stuttering initial phase of the campaign... But what you do always expect with Putin is that he will try and lash out then, so I’m afraid that is part of his playbook, which is why we need to show strategic stamina and see this through with our international allies." 

Mr Raab, who is also the UK Justice Secretary, said he understood Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea to implemetn a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but insisted this could not happen.

He said: "I understand that crie de Coeur, that plight, and that he wants everything done.

"We’re just being clear all along -  the UK, our allies, the United States - we’re not going to engage Putin in direct military confrontation.

"That is giving succour to his argument that he is actually in conflict with the West. This is not what this is about. He has invaded a free country.

"It is illegal, his tactics are brutal and barbaric." 

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted that his party would show unity with the Conservatives over action in Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin sought to disrupt the cohesion of Western politics. 

He said Labour would be pushing the government to go further and faster with its economic sanctions on some of the most high-profile oligarchs, and said there should have been more "forethought" rather than waiting until the invasion began before beginning to impose sanctions.

However he also said his party would support the Economic Crime Bill which is due to be debated in the Commons tomorrow, which aims to make it harder for wealthy Russians to purchase property in the UK and launder cash through the country's economy. 

Sir Keir said: "I am frustrated because many people, including the Labour Party have been calling for these measures for a long time.

"There was a report called The Russia Report in 2020, two years ago now, that set out in detail what the problems were with Russian money in the United Kingdom, amongst other influences, political influence.

"The government’s done nothing about that report and it’s just sat there.

"There’s echoes of Afghanistan... which is a government that really only begins to get its act together and respond in the heat of the situation rather than preparing for it beforehand.

"We will support them tomorrow [on the Economic Crime Bill].

"Our votes will be there for these sanctions and we will stand united. But are we frustrated that they’re going slowly and they didn't look at this months ago, but these sanctions could actually be in place by now if the government had had a bit of forethought on this.

"But, as I say, I don’t want to divide other than to push the government further and  faster on this."