Truss steamrollers Putin’s invasion plot with devastating new threat – Russia sent reeling

Ms Truss is likely to set out new sanctions against Russia as soon as Thursday if Mr Putin invades Ukraine.

In an astounding new development, in the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Yugoslav wars, Ms Truss has warned that the British Government will attack oligarchs, Bloomberg reported.

Ms Truss is holding talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Thursday.

Ms Truss is the first Foreign Secretary to visit the Kremlin in four years and speaking ahead of the visit she released a statement saying: “Russia should be in no doubt about the strength of our response. We have said many times that any further invasion would incur severe costs, including through a coordinated package of sanctions.”

She said that Russia “has a choice” and she strongly encourage them to “engage, de-escalate and choose the path of diplomacy.”

The UK is a major financial centre for Russian companies and individuals and the government has long been pressured to apply pressure to those who are linked to Mr Putin. Russian billionaires have been buying property and assets in Britain since the 1990s, much to the blind eye of the nation.

On Monday Ms Truss warned Russian’s in Britain that whether they support Russia’s “aggressive actions against Ukraine”, or whether they’re of “wider significance to the Kremlin” they are unfraid to sanction people. She continued: “Nothing is off the table and there will be nowhere to hide.”

Transparency International says there is more than £1 billion worth of UK property bought with suspicious wealth that originates in Russia.

Wealthy Russians have settled in Britain via investor visa programs, according to a report published by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament in 2020.

The report notes that: “There are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth.

“The UK welcomed Russian money, and few questions — if any — were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth.

“The links of the Russian elite to the UK — especially where this involves business and investment — provide access to UK companies and political figures, and thereby a means for broad Russian influence in the UK.”

Ms Truss’ comes as Russia told Britain to drop its “pointless” sanctions rhetoric, which if it continues risks leaving their meeting “fairly short.” Russia’s ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, said to TASS news agency: “If they’re coming to Russia to threaten us again with sanctions then it is fairly pointless: we read everything, see everything, know and hear. In this case, the dialogue and conversation in Moscow will be probably fairly short.

Intense diplomatic efforts are underway from many European nations to try to avoid any conflict and the UK said on Monday that 350 Royal Marines were being sent to Poland to help local forces in the face of the tensions in Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly denied plans to invade Ukraine despite having over 100,000 troops lined up at the border. The UK has not yet had the legal means to apply sanctions but is continually looking for ways to do so as the threat of war intensifies.

Western powers have also threatened unprecedented sanctions if troops cross the border. The US has said the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be blocked.

On Wednesday the Pope called war “madness” and said he hoped the tensions could be reduced through “serious dialogue”.