Foreign secretary Liz Truss will visit the Ukrainian capital Kiev this week to deliver a speech warning Russia of international “pariah status” if president Vladimir Putin decides on an invasion.
The Foreign Office said Ms Truss will visit Ukraine, Poland and Germany as western diplomatic efforts continue in a bid to deter Russian “aggression” and prevent war in the region.
In her upcoming Kiev speech, the foreign secretary is expected to say: “I urge Russia to take the path of diplomacy. We are ready to talk.”
Ms Truss will add: “But we are very clear – if they decide to continue down the path of aggression, there will be massive consequences bringing Russia severe economic costs and pariah status.”
In a message to Mr Putin, the foreign minister will also say the UK wants Russia to “respect the sovereignty of others, and live up to their commitments”.
On the trip, Ms Truss will meet her Ukraine counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau in a demonstration of unified support for Ukrainian sovereignty.
On Saturday, she will then attend the Munich Security Conference where the Foreign Office said she will strengthen security ties with some of the UK’s key strategic allies.
The visit comes after Mr Putin claimed that Russia was ready for further talks, but emphasised the need for the west to heed his main demands.
A Ukrainian servicewoman walks under a large Ukrainian flag carried by people marking a Day of Unity in Sievierodonetsk
The Russian leader said the US had rejected Moscow’s demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of Nato.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed troops are returning to base following the conclusion of military exercises near the border, with units crossing out of Crimea on Wednesday.
But Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said “we have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces”. He said the alliance could prove Russia’s failure to pull back its troops with satellite imagery.
Mr Stoltenberg announced that Nato’s military commanders would draw up plans for new combat units that diplomats said could be deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace – who met with fellow Nato defence ministers on Wednesday – warned that Russia still had “a very significant force” on the border “that would overwhelm Ukraine should it be deployed”.
Mr Wallace reiterated advice from the Foreign Office for British nationals to “seek to either leave or avoid travel to Ukraine”.
The prime minister had earlier suggested there were still “mixed signals” coming out of Russia about the prospect of an invasion of Ukraine, describing the situation as “not encouraging”.
Ukrainian border guards patrol a Ukraine – Russia border not far from Eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
