Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine if he is allowed to win, a Government minister has waned.
Liz Truss admits there will be an 'economic cost for British people' from the sanctions currently being imposed against Russia during the conflict with Ukraine.
But the Foreign Secretary has suggested it is a cost worth paying in an attempt to thwart Putin's hopes of a 'greater Russia'.
She told the House of Commons today (March 8): “Of course, there will be an economic cost for British people from these sanctions, in terms of their energy bills and their cost of living, but that cost is nothing compared to the cost to the people of Ukraine of this horrific barbarism they’re facing.
“It is also not compared to the cost of allowing Putin to succeed because what we know is if Putin does not lose in Ukraine, then this will not be the limit of his ambitions.
"He has already been clear that he wants to see a greater Russia, that could encompass countries like Moldova and the Baltic states.
“It is vitally important that we throw everything at sanctions, we help as much as we can with defensive weaponry into Ukraine because this is a battle that Putin needs to lose.”
Ms Truss told MPs that the UK's economic sanctions totalled a value of £364 billion, as she faced criticism from opponents who questioned why the Government had imposed fewer sanctions than other countries since 2014 - at 271 compared to 766 in the European Union, 800 in Switzerland, 900 in Canada and 1,200 in the United States, according to Castellum AI.
Labour MP Matt Western claimed 'the facts speak for themselves', while the SNP's Alyn Smith told Ms Truss: "There is mounting frustration on these benches at the lack of progress and the lack of ambition in the UK’s sanctions regime."
The Foreign Secretary replied: "What we are seeking to do here is debilitate the Russian economy, we have targeted and sanctioned £364 billion of assets, the EU have targeted £124 billion of assets.
“Yes, there are specific issues over individuals which we are addressing through the emergency legislation that went through the House and will be in place next week, and we will be able to sanction all the individuals that he is referring to, but it is simply not true to say that the UK has not led on this, we have led on it."
The warning over President Putin's ambitions comes despite fiery comments from Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on the BBC this morning.
He told BBC Breakfast that Russian forces were 'getting more desperate' as the invasion rolled on without 'getting its way at all'.
READ MORE: Air ambulance scrambled to police scene near bus station - latest updates
READ MORE: Moment Manc tourist pulls out 10-inch knife on shopkeeper as partner hurls beer bottle
And Mr Wallace turned his attention to Mr Putin - who has served as Russia's president for 18 of the last 22 years - insisting the conflict would prove to be a fatal blow for his rule.
The cabinet member told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Whatever we think about President Putin, he is done. He is a spent force in the world. No one will be taking his phone calls in the long term.
“He has exhausted his army, he is responsible for thousands of Russian soldiers being killed, responsible for innocent people being killed, civilians being killed in Ukraine.
“He is reducing his economy to zero, because the international community has decided that is absolutely unacceptable, what he’s done.
“So he is a spent force in the world and I don’t know whether he thinks that’s a clever thing to be, but that diminishes his own country in the world and he has to take responsibility for that.”
READ MORE: Moment woman posts a dead BAT through a letterbox in a bizarre mix-up
