A SOUTHAMPTON MP is calling on the Government to use "every sanction at our disposal" in response to Russia invading Ukraine.

Royston Smith, who represents the Itchen constituency, has condemned the actions of Vladimir Putin.

This morning, Russian troops crossed the Crimean border and videos of bombings have emerged online.

It is thought the armed forces are hitting military targets near big cities.

"I accepted the principle of ratcheting up sanctions against the Russian regime but Putin has now invaded a sovereign nation," said Royston Smith MP.

"Every sanction at our disposal must be deployed and deployed immediately."

This comes after the EU announced it would ban Russia from some of the world's key markets, in what has been labelled as one of the 'harshest financial sanctions in history'.

Alan Whitehead, MP for the Test constituency, said: "Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine is an unprovoked, unjustifiable outrage and a heinous violation of international law that will have tragic consequences. 

"The Labour Party stands with our allies and partners in condemning it in the strongest possible terms, and we must maintain and strengthen our unity and resolve.

"We must now match our rhetoric with action. The hardest possible sanctions must be taken against all those linked to Putin and against the Russian government’s interests. 

"After more than a decade of inaction, the influence of corrupt Russian money must now be extricated from the UK. The government must now bring forward the urgent measures that Labour have repeatedly called for." 

Why is Russia invading Ukraine?

 

Ukraine has long attempted to move towards European institutions, both Nato and the EU. But this is something Russia has resisted for a long time.

Now, Putin has claimed Ukraine is a "puppet of the West", and "was never a proper state anyway".

He is demanding that Ukraine does not join Nato, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that the country surrenders its military to become a neutral state.

As a former Soviet republic Ukraine has deep social and cultural ties with Russia, and Russian is widely spoken there, but ever since Russia invaded in 2014 those relations have frayed.