As the violence in Ukraine enters its seventh week, the full horrors of Vladimir Putin’s barbarism are becoming ever clearer as Russian troops are forced into retreat from towns including Irpin and Bucha. Indiscriminate attacks and horrifying brutality against innocent civilians, including summary executions, rape and torture, must be investigated as war crimes, and the UK will fully support any investigations by the International Criminal Court.

Everyone across the United Kingdom continues to applaud your bravery and resolve, standing up for Ukraine’s future, Europe’s freedom and the security of the world.

The UK stands with Ukraine and is leading global efforts, supporting your country to ensure Vladimir Putin loses. We have stepped up with our allies and partners to strengthen our Ukrainian friends in your fightback and to hit his regime where it hurts with sanctions.

But we are not stopping there.

This week, I flew to Poland to see the great work we are doing on the ground to tackle the human cost of Putin’s war.

The UK is proud to have led the way as the first country in Europe to start sending weapons to the people of Ukraine. We have sanctioned more individuals and businesses than any other nation. We are also one of the largest humanitarian donors to the country, helping you, our Ukrainian friends through your darkest hour.

We know Putin has been blindsided by the strength of the response he has faced. He thought the people of Ukraine would either wilt or welcome his troops with open arms. Instead, you are more likely to greet them with a British-built NLAW tank buster. The Ukrainian army is also kitted out with British-made Starstreak anti-air missiles.

The UK has set the pace in sanctioning Putin and his henchmen.

We warned alongside our G7 partners that Russian aggression would have severe consequences and have followed through since with the strongest sanctions they have ever seen.

But our job is far from done.

If Putin was serious about peace talks, he would have called a halt to the shelling of innocent civilians and pulled his soldiers out of Ukraine for good. We can, and must, do more to make him think again.

To get peace, we must keep being tough. That means doubling down alongside our allies and partners on what has already forced Putin onto the back foot: sanctions against his regime and meaningful weapons for Ukraine.

Our sanctions are having a dramatic impact on the Russian economy.

That has only been possible by joining forces with our friends to harness the G7’s economic muscle, as countries who represent over half of the world’s net wealth. 

However, that will not be enough to cut off the funding for Putin’s war machine. We need to go further and faster to crack down on those filling his war chest.

The UK is already leading by example in going after those bankrolling the Putin regime. We have hit 16 Russian banks and are cutting out our imports of Russian oil this year. We are zeroing in on other industries complicit in this hideous war like diamonds. And we are slapping Putin’s lapdogs and cronies with sanctions.

There can be nowhere to hide. We have sanctioned Putin’s personal propagandists such as Maria Zakharova, and many others who peddle his fake news - with the anchorman Sergey Brilev only the latest. We have recently hit Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, who has been dubbed the "butcher of Mariupol" for spearheading the barbaric siege warfare against the city.

We are turning the screw on Russian oligarchs by grounding their jets and seizing their superyachts. They cannot wash their hands of this illegal invasion.

Strength is the only thing Putin understands and that must keep defining our response.

We need to continue hitting his regime hard with further sanctions.

We must ensure Putin is never able to threaten Ukraine again.

The world can see the untold horrors caused by his aggression, including evidence of appalling acts against innocent civilians by the invading forces in towns such as Irpin and Bucha.

We have a moral duty to act, which is why the UK is providing £220 million in humanitarian support.

We have been packing up trucks with food and water to help your towns and cities surrounded by Putin’s forces, with the first deliveries arriving this week. We have also flown out more than thirteen planeloads of medicine and medical equipment. Last week 15 fire engines and 40,000 items of kit from the UK’s fire and rescue services arrived in Ukraine.

At this defining moment, Britain is stepping up in defence of freedom and democracy. We are reaching out to broaden the coalition of free democracies. And we are showing our steel in this mission to stop Putin's war for good.

Now is the time to stay the course. Together, we cannot rest until Ukraine prevails and Putin fails.

Liz Truss,

UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs,

for European Pradva