BORIS Johnson will hold showdown talks with Vladimir Putin in the coming days to stop war in Europe.
As Russian troops threaten to invade Ukraine, the PM will head to the region as he demands Putin step back from the brink to prevent any bloodshed.
Britain is expected to also slap punishing sanctions on Russia’s “strategic and financial” interests on Monday.
Mr Johnson is also considering bolstering Nato’s defences across eastern Europe as the region teeters on the brink of war.
It comes after the PM held a high-level intelligence briefing last week where he was updated on the Russian threat.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister is determined to accelerate diplomatic efforts and ramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshed in Europe.
“He will reiterate the need for Russia to step back and engage diplomatically when he speaks to President Putin this week.”
Putin has sent more than 100,000 troops to the border of Ukraine as he threatens to invade within weeks.
It is the biggest threat to peace on the continent since World War Two.
Britain and its allies will launch a fresh diplomatic blitz at the UN Security Council on Monday to pile pressure on Russia to call off the dogs of war.
The PM has told allies the West must do all it can to avert war or risk thousands of lives being lost and neighbours and friends pitted against each other in a brutal conflict.
Mr Johnson will head to the region next week.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are both flying into Russia in the coming weeks for talks with the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, the PM told MPs Russia would pay a “forbidding price” if Putin dared to stage an incursion into Ukraine.
As tensions mount, US President Joe Biden has warned that Russia could invade Ukraine within days.
And Mr Wallace has admitted he is “not optimistic” a Russian mobilisation into Ukraine can be stopped.
Government minister Chris Philp said Moscow should “get to the table” to resolve the tension peacefully as he warned of “very serious” sanctions should Russian troops make an incursion into neighbouring territory.
Western allies have said they could slap personal sanctions on Putin and will block the opening of a vital pipeline, Nord Stream 2, exporting Russian gas.
Mr Philp said: “I think President Biden and our Prime Minister are right to warn President Putin that the consequences if they do invade Ukraine, will be very, very serious indeed for Russia in terms of sanctions.
