Russia could use chemical or even low level nuclear weapons to win the war in Ukraine, a top Tory MP has warned.
Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said Vladimir Putin "can't fail" in his mission with the stakes being high, reports The Mirror.
And he said more sanctions were needed, on a daily basis if necessary, to ensure the Russian leader was stopped from achieving his aim.
Putin has already spoken of the "cutting-edge" arsenal of weapons available to him and has made it clear he would retaliate if any other country got in his way.
During a Kremlin speech, the Russian president said there would be "consequences" like "never seen in history" to those who interfered with Russia's military incursion into Ukraine.
Now Mr Ellwood, speaking on television, has raised his own concerns over Putin and his actions saying: "As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, today’s Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states.
“Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country."
Mr Ellwood told BBC: "If I have a concern I would not put it beyond Putin to stoop to radical tactics to secure victory. He can't fail and the stakes are very very high indeed.
"We need to continue to support Ukraine not just with hard power but with humanitarian aid as well.
"We also put pressure on Russia. I don't think a day should go by when a new initiative isn’t announced.
"Today we've rolled out limits on Swift. Tomorrow all of Europe should send home Russia ambassadors back to Moscow.
"Let's invite Sweden and Finland to join Nato.
"For months we’ve been playing catch up. We must now start to control the agenda."
When pressed on what type of weapons he was referring to, Mr Ellwood added: "We've seen what he's done in Syria for example, he can certainly use other weapons systems which haven't been tested or that we're used to."
Mr Ellwood listed chemical weapons and said the worst case scenario would be low yield nuclear weapons as well.
Huge explosions lit up the sky early on Sunday near the capital, Kyiv, where people sheltered in homes and basements as Russian forces struggled to gain movement in Ukraine.
Western officials believe Putin is determined to overthrow Ukraine’s government and replace it with a regime of his own, redrawing the map of Europe and reviving Moscow’s Cold War-era influence.
The UK, US and European Union have agreed to block selected Russian banks from the Swift global financial messaging system, which moves money around more than 11,000 banks and other financial institutions worldwide.
As part of a new round of sanctions aiming to impose a severe cost on Moscow they also agreed to impose ”restrictive measures” on Russia’s central bank.
Putin sent troops into Ukraine after denying for weeks that he intended to do so. In the past few months he has built up a force of almost 200,000 troops along the countries’ borders.
He claims the West has failed to take seriously Russia’s security concerns about Nato, the Western military alliance that Ukraine aspires to join.
Putin has also expressed scorn about Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state.
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