British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday said he would help where possible with a cost-of-living squeeze but warned tough economic times would be exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis and sanctions on Russia.

"The actions and steps we're taking to sanction Russia are not cost-free for us here at home," Sunak told Sky News, ahead of a half-yearly budget update on Wednesday.

"I can't pretend that it's going to be easy, that government can solve every challenge, or that I can completely protect people against some of the difficult times ahead, but what I can say is where we can make a difference, of course we will."

(Reporting by William Schomberg, writing by Alistair Smout)