Boris Johnson called Vladimir Putin a “f**king idiot” during a TV interview and said the Russian leader needs to understand his country’s empire is “over”.
The former British Prime Minister was speaking to an Estonian journalist during an interview for Eesti Ekspress on January 9. The news site has now shared a clip including Mr Johnson’s robust assessment.
Asked about Putin’s unlawful attack on Ukraine, and threats to Baltic countries, Mr Johnson said: “What Putin is doing is archaic and barbaric, and he needs to understand that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. None of these countries are part of the Russian imperium anymore, and nor is Ukraine.
“It’s over, over, over, over, no more empire Vladimir, you f**king idiot, excuse my language.”
Mr Johnson was the first Western leader to travel to Ukraine after the illegal invasion by Russian in February 2022 to offer his support to the country and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Johnson drew parallels with the end of the British Empire and how a nation has to accept when times have changed.
Speaking about his conversations with Mr Putin in the run-up to the war in Ukraine, Mr Johnson revealed at one point the Russian despot threatened Britain with a “missile strike”. The Kremlin since denied the allegation.
Speaking in a BBC documentary, Mr Johnson said during a phone call with Putin “he threatened me at one point, and he said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute’ or something like that. Jolly”.
Mr Johnson added: “But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate.”
At the time the British government and NATO were fervently attempting to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but it was clear the Kremlin had other ideas, with a spokesperson making an underhand jab at Mr Johnson implying he was “utterly confused”
On February 3, 2022, the Kremlin said: “Russia and president Putin are open to communicating with everyone. Even to someone who is utterly confused, he is prepared to provide exhaustive explanations.”
Just 21 days later Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The former Conservative leader has become something of a hero to the people of Ukraine and the ex-PM enjoys a close relationship with President Zelenksy.
A street in a town close to the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa in Ukraine was renamed from Mayakovsky Street to Boris Johnson Street in his honour just weeks after Russian invaded.
A council spokesperson said at the time: “The prime minister of the United Kingdom is one of the most principled opponents of the Russian invasion, a leader in sanctions on Russia and defence support for Ukraine.”
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