James Cleverly has called on the international community to reject the “charade” of referendums he said Vladimir Putin will use to annex parts of Ukraine.

The Russian president has warned his country would use “all the means at our disposal” to protect itself.

Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, the foreign secretary said: “We know that Russia is about to hold sham referenda on sovereign Ukrainian territory with no basis in law under the threat of violence after mass displacements of people in areas that voted overwhelmingly for Ukrainian independence.”

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