Vladimir Putin has been warned that he faces being hauled in front of the Hague for war crimes over his invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said there was a “very real risk” of the Russian president and his loyalists “ending up in a dock in The Hague and spending their lives behind bars”.
It comes as Russia ramped up its efforts to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight. A convoy stretching for 40 miles has been seen advancing on the city.
The latest estimates from Ukraine suggest that as of Monday, 352 people — including 16 children — had been killed in the fighting.
Britain’s ambassador to the UN, Dame Barbara Woodward, accused the Kremlin of launching “indiscriminate attacks against men, women and children” and warned that Ukraine was now on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
Raab, a former lawyer who prosecuted war criminals, accused Putin of “barbarism” against Ukraine and warned on Sky News: “Those that engage in war crimes will be held to account.”
And he told BBC Breakfast: “We’re also supporting efforts to make sure that evidence of war crimes is preserved.”
He cited the fact that the former Bosnian Serb politician Radovan Karadzic is now in a UK prison for war crimes following a hearing at the Hague.
“That shows you our willingness to wait for however long it takes to make sure there is accountability for any violations of the law of war,” he said.
“The International Criminal Court, the prosecutor...has said that he is looking at the situation very carefully, and if and when the ICC decides to take action the UK, and I’m sure many of our allies, would want to support them practically, logistically in any way possible.”
The deputy prime minister, who is also justice secretary, stressed that the West needed to be prepared for “the long haul”.
“It’s not going to end quickly. We need to level with people,” he told Times Radio.
Boris Johnson has London for Warsaw today where he is due to meet Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Johnson is set to discuss the UK’s financial and diplomatic support for central Europe as it faces the prospect of a humanitarian crisis.
So far around half a million Ukrainians are thought to have fled their country following Russia’s invasion.
After meeting Morawiecki, Johnson will head to Estonia where he will meet with leaders in Tallinn before visiting serving troops alongside Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.