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The Foreign Secretary is expected to try and diffuse tensions with the Kremlin during crisis talks with Vladimir Putin’s government this week.

It comes as US officials say Russia has now assembled on the border about 70 per cent of the troops and arms needed for a full-scale invasion.

Ms Truss will tell Moscow to “de-escalate and desist its unprovoked aggression”.

She will warn Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that “any incursion into Ukraine would harm ordinary Russians”, according to a Foreign Office source.

The insider added: “The Foreign Secretary will deliver the clear message that the only way forward is for Russia to de-escalate from its aggressive behaviour.

“By urging the Russians to resolve this through diplomacy, the Foreign Secretary is advocating for the interests of not just the UK, Nato and Ukraine, but the Russian people themselves.

“Ultimately, our quarrel is with the policies Russia’s leaders are pursuing, not with the Russian people. Any Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a tragic miscalculation.

“It is ordinary people who would incur the highest cost of any invasion of Ukraine, including countless lives lost and serious economic damage. The Foreign Secretary will argue there is potential for better ties in the future if the Kremlin changes its behaviour. But we need to see that Russia is willing to de-escalate first.”

A source close to Ms Truss said: “Liz will deliver a direct message to the Kremlin that diplomacy is the only way through this crisis.

“She’ll warn any invasion of Ukraine will take an appalling toll on the Russian people – many ordinary Russians will die.

“She wants Britain to be front-footed and lead on this issue.” Experts said a Russian invasion could see 50,000 civilian deaths and that the Ukraine capital Kiev could fall in days, triggering a refugee crisis as millions flee.

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About 100,000 troops have massed near the former Soviet country in recent months but President Putin denies planning to attack.

He has made a series of demands to the West, insisting Ukraine should never be allowed to join Nato.

Last week, Russia and China accused the West of taking a “ColdWar” attitude to the crisis.

President Putin and China’s premier Xi Jinping put on a united front in Beijing before the Winter Olympics began.

Commons Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood warned yesterday: “With China now onside, the Russian invasion into Ukraine is now imminent. Our window for the West to prevent this is now closing fast.”

The UK providing weapons and training to Ukrainian forces “shows to Putin the war won’t be an easy ride”, an exiled Russian businessman has claimed.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that bolstering its defences was the most important way that London could show solidarity with Kiev.

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