FOREIGN secretary Liz Truss has said she condemns Russia’s “appalling, unprovoked attack” on Ukraine which took place in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the action during a televised address early on Thursday morning, saying the move was a response to threats from Ukraine.

He added that Russia does not have a goal to occupy Ukraine, but said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime”.

Mr Putin also warned other countries that attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.

“I strongly condemn the appalling, unprovoked attack President Putin has launched on the people of Ukraine,” Ms Truss tweeted.

“We stand with Ukraine and we will work with our international partners to respond to this terrible act of (aggression).”

Truss suggested on Wednesday that Tory donors could potentially be hit with sanctions if they have links to Putin’s regime.

She said she was ruling nothing out “in terms of who we target” over the Ukraine crisis, as she faced calls for her party to hand back donated cash with Russian connections reportedly worth nearly £2 million.

She added in an earlier piece for The Times that Britain will “use every lever at our disposal to stop (Putin) in his tracks”.

Ms Truss said: “Nothing is off the table.”