Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged British nationals still in Ukraine to leave as soon as possible on commercial flights "while they are still available".

This comes as Boris Johnson is set to impose sanctions on Russia, as they escalate the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Yesterday (Monday, February 21) Russian President Vladimir Putin took the step in recognising two Ukrainian regions as independent states in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Earlier this month the Foreign Office advised British nationals to leave Ukraine and now Mrs Truss has reiterated that message as tensions continue to rise.

In a post on her Twitter account, the Foreign Secretary wrote: "The safety and security of British nationals in Ukraine is our top priority. All Brits should leave now via commercial routes while they are still available.

"We are bolstering our teams in the region to support British people as they leave and once they have crossed the border."

What message did Boris Johnson send out to Vladimir Putin?

Boris Johnson warned President Putin has “gravely miscalculated” the situation, in a message sent out earlier today (Tuesday, February 22).

He said: “He believes that Ukraine has no real right to exist as a sovereign, independent country.

“But that goes against everything that we struggled to achieve at the end of the Cold War, it goes against the aspirations of the Ukrainian people.

“The most difficult thing now for Vladimir Putin in prosecuting this war… he will come up against something that I think will be very hard for him to beat, and that is the Ukrainian sense of national pride and their determination to defend their country and to fight for it.”