Following a lengthy meeting with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, she told The Telegraph: “We discussed what more sanctions we can put on. We’re very clear the ratchet needs to be tightened.
“The sanctions are already having a debilitating effect on the Russian economy. Russia is being pushed back to a pre-globalised age. People can’t use their Apple Pay any more, the Russian government can’t access a lot of the foreign currency reserves that they’ve had. People can’t go to McDonald’s in Moscow any more.”
She said existing sanctions were squeezing funding to Putin’s war machine but the West “needs to do more”.
Some Russian banks have been removed from Swift, but Germany has been accused of resisting the blocking of the state-backed Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, which handles energy-related transactions.
Ms Truss said: “I’ve said we want to see a full ban on Swift, we want to see a clear timetable to reduce dependency on oil and gas across the G7 and our allies. We need to keep the pressure up on Putin.
“What our sanctions are about is cutting off the funding for Putin to be able to operate. It will take time, but we can see signs that it is working.”
Ms Truss said Putin was not making the gains he expected in Ukraine, but there must be no offers to him. She added: “Now is not the time to let up or give concessions because what we’ve seen in the past is that when Putin gets concessions, he banks them and then comes back for more. This is the time we need to be strong, and be tough, and be resolute.
“He has to withdraw from Ukraine. He has to be seen to lose in Ukraine. That is what is important.”
As the mothers of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine realised their sons were not coming back, pressure on the Kremlin would mount, she said. She said Russia was also overstretched through its other commitments, including in Syria, and its mercenaries in the Sahel.
But she added: “What I worry about is, because Putin isn’t making the progress he wants… he is turning to more and more extreme forms of violence, and we saw the appalling attack on the hospital.
“We are concerned about what might be next, which is why it’s so important that we are resolute in pursuing tougher sanctions, continuing to supply defensive weapons and continuing to support the Ukrainians.”
