Putin ‘doesn’t give a shit about sanctions’

Putin ‘doesn’t give a s**t about sanctions’ and ‘the more the West pushes him, the stronger his response will be’, Russian ambassador to Sweden says as US staff begin withdrawing from eastern Ukraine amid warning of ‘imminent’ invasion

• Viktor Tatarintsev said ‘the more the West pushes Russia, the stronger the Russian response will be’
• He claimed Russia had become more ‘self-sufficient’ amid the threat of sanctions and had increased exports 
• Dramatic photos today showed U.S. staff members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) packing up and leaving the rebel-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine 
• Were fleeing as Britain’s Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said Russian invasion could be ‘imminent’