The Guardian view on Russia: cracking down on tainted money | Editorial

Britain says new legislation will hit the oligarchs around Vladimir Putin if Ukraine is invaded. A serious attempt to tackle kleptocracy is long overdue

Those in and around the Kremlin will have nowhere to hide," the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, told the Commons on Monday, promising new legislation to impose sanctions on those with links to the Russian government should it invade Ukraine. It would be applicable to any company (and its owners) with ties to the Russian state and of economic significance to it - extending well beyond the existing sanctions regime, which covers only those linked to the destabilisation of Ukraine.

The Kremlin says that it does not want war, but with more than 100,000 troops near the borders of Ukraine, and more arriving in Belarus, fear is growing of a major land offensive or - as Kyiv suspects - longer-term destabilisation and a continuing hybrid assault using cyber-attacks, sabotage and other means. While diplomacy continues, there is no sign of progress. Vladimir Putin says that Russia's proposals have been ignored. The US succeeded in forcing a UN security council debate, with Moscow responding by warning that Ukraine may destroy itself" if it undermines existing peace agreements. On Tuesday, Boris Johnson flew to Kyiv to show support, Monday's attempt to play international statesman having been hobbled when he had to cancel a phone call with the Russian president to address MPs about the Sue Gray report. Standing next to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he warned that a Russian invasion would be a disaster.