Boris Johnson has said the actions of Russian forces in Ukraine appear close to “genocide” as he pledged Britain will be in the “front rank” of nations imposing new sanctions on Moscow.

The US and the EU are both planning punishing new measures against Vladimir Putin’s regime amid a wave of international revulsion at reports of rape and the killings of civilians by his troops.

Ukrainian officials have said the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been discovered in Bucha and other towns around the capital, Kyiv, recaptured from the Russians as their forces pull back.

Speaking during a visit to a hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Mr Johnson said the latest disclosures underline the need for the international community to tighten the economic pressure on the Kremlin.

“I’m afraid, when you look at what’s happening in Bucha, the revelations that we are seeing from what Putin has done in Ukraine doesn’t look far short of genocide to me,” he said.

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