Boris Johnson will visit Ukraine and hold crisis talks with Vladimir Putin next week amid fears of a Russian invasion. The British prime minister is determined to “accelerate diplomatic efforts” and “ramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshed” in the coming days, according to government sources. The planned trip to the region comes amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia, which is continuing to build up its forces on its neighbour’s border. However, it will not go unnoticed that the prime minister’s overseas visit comes at a time of rising tensions on the domestic front, with a redacted version of the long-awaited Sue Gray report expected to be published imminently. Labour has accused the prime minister of “playing catch up with other world leaders” on deterring Russian aggression against Ukraine. The shadow defence secretary, John Healey, said the government was “paralysed by a mess of its own making” domestically as Johnson awaits the report. Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the Commons defence select committee, on Saturday said the tensions in Ukraine were “our Cuban missile crisis moment and we must not blink”. He told Sky News: “From a Russian perspective, there’s never been a better time to invade Ukraine – something Putin has been wanting to do for a long time. “He’s enjoying this international attention. Every time a leader puts their hand up and says ‘I’m going to go to Moscow’, of course he’s going to say yes. “He’s spinning this out. I doubt whether an invasion will take place before the Beijing Olympics, China would have made sure of that.” A Downing Street spokesperson 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.” It comes after Johnson asked defence and security chiefs to consider further defensive military options in Europe during a high-level intelligence briefing on the situation last week. He will consider a range of options to deter Russian aggression in the region, including fresh deployments and bolstering Nato’s defences after a Ministry of Defence meeting this weekend. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office is expected to announce tougher sanctions on Monday, meaning the UK can target Russia’s strategic and financial interests – despite reported US worries over the extent of “dirty” Russian money in London. American diplomats have raised concerns that any sanctions imposed on Russia over the potential conflict would prove to be ineffective due to the sheer amount of Russian wealth in the capital, also referred to as “Londongrad”.