Putin ‘capable of anything’ but Russia will be ‘held to account’ over Ukraine invasion, Raab warns

DOMINIC Raab today warned there is "no tactic" Vladimir Putin would not resort to - but insisted Russia will be "held to account" over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Deputy Prime Minister said "anything is possible" based on the warmongering leader's past and insisted Britain must now do everything possible to ensure he fails.

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Mr Raab today said the UK will NOT engage in "direct conflict" with Putin and ruled out imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

But he insisted the former KGB officer and in his cronies will be held to account - and risked being prosecuted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mr Raab said: "I think anything is possible when you look at what Putin has done in the past and in all the wars he's been involved in.

"I don't think there is any tactic he wouldn't resort to but I will say this - Nato and central European countries are absolutely resolute and we will support them to the hilt to ensure that is not the case."

It comes as...

• Boris Johnson is to present a six-point plan of action to world leaders on how to deal with Putin 
• Ukraine claims it has now killed 11,000 Russian soldiers as yesterday nine of Putin's aircraft were shot down
• Putin issued a direct threat to the UK as he raged at sanctions "akin to a declaration of war"
• SAS and US commandos are reportedly training for a rescue mission to save President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia dealing Putin another major blow
• Cancer-stricken kids are trapped in war-torn Ukraine - as doctors tell them the bombs are just fireworks
• Heartbreaking pictures show the extent of Ukraine's refugee crisis - with 1.5million fleeing for their lives
• British firms helping Putin's henchmen must face the full force of the law, said David Davis MP

Mr Raab went on to tell Sky's Trevor Phillips on Sunday Britain would not "get ourselves into a direct military conflict with Putin" as it would be a "massive escalation" that "feeds Putin's narrative".

His comments were flanked by the Chief of Defence Staff, Sir Tony Radakin, who told the BBC Russian morale was "low" before playing down the nation's nuclear threats.

Justice Secretary Raab said "we will do everything short of [a direct military conflict] to support Ukrainians" but he insisted the "reckless and frankly applying tactics by the Putin regime must be held to account".

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He added this applied "not just (to) Putin himself, but also anyone taking illegal orders".

Mr Raab said: "The ICC is making clear, that for all of those commanders on the ground right through to the people around Putin in the Kremlin, what they do now, whether they give or whether they follow illegal orders to commit war crimes, they will be held to account for it, and they need to know that."

While Raab admitted there was not "any tactic [Putin] wouldn’t resort to" he described talk of an increased threat of Russia using nuclear weapons as "rhetoric and brinkmanship".

And he warned he expected the Ukrainian conflict to last "months, if not years", adding Britain and allies will need to show "strategic stamina" to ensure Putin fails.

🔵 Read our Russia - Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates

Meanwhile the head of the Armed Forces said western countries "have to have confidence that what we're doing is the right thing".

And he insisted "we’ve got to be very cautious about Putin’s threats".

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "We've got to maintain a calmness and responsibility so that we don't just react rashly to whatever is the latest, frankly at times, bizarre or ridiculous comment from President Putin."

He added: "So, we are prepared, we are professional armed forces, we will approach this conflict with that level of professionalism and responsibility that you would expect.

"We will also be incredibly confident in our ability to face down President Putin."

Sir Tony was later asked whether the West would know beforehand whether Mr Putin would use nuclear weapons, to which he added: "I don't want to go into the detail but if you look at this conflict, we've had a remarkable level of intelligence and we were saying for months that this is what President Putin was intending to do.

"There are some more discrete elements in terms of warning signs if this was going to start to chart a path towards nuclear escalation."

It comes as Boris Johnson gets set to present world leaders with a six-point action plan to combat the warmongering Russian leader.

The PM has drawn up a package of aid and sanctions and urges partners to match words with action.

He will place humanitarian and military support to Ukraine at the heart of his strategy to isolate Russia.

Setting out his plan last night he said: “Putin must fail and be seen to fail in this act of aggression.

“It’s not enough to express our support for 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.”

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Mr Johnson will welcome Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau and the Netherlands’ PM Mark Rutte to Downing Street for talks.

He hosts leaders of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia on Tuesday.

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