Boris Johnson brands Vladimir Putin a ‘f***ing idiot’ as he calls on Western leaders to let Ukraine join Nato
Boris Johnson had branded Vladimir Putin a “bloody idiot” for his imperial ambitions.
Britain’s former prime minister told the despot that there will be “no more empire,” declaring that Ukraine and other Eastern European countries would never again join the “Russian empire.”
Johnson, 60, also warned that the West is “pulling back” and that Donald Trump “would not do everything… to help Ukraine” unless NATO members increase their defense spending.
Speaking to Baltic news website Delfi, he said: ‘What Putin is doing is archaic and barbaric, and he must understand that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania – none of these countries are part of the Russian empire anymore. And neither does Ukraine.
‘It’s over – over, over, over. No more empire, Vladimir, you damn idiot. Excuse my language.’
Mr Johnson also suggested world leaders renew efforts to get Ukraine to join NATO to deter a Russian invasion in the future.
He said: ‘People don’t talk about it anymore. And I think that’s a great, great loss, because the West is retreating again.
‘We have to be much more decisive. We will not solve the Ukraine problem without Article 5 guarantees or long-term NATO membership.”
Boris Johnson had branded Vladimir Putin a “bloody idiot” for his imperial ambitions
The former Prime Minister of Britain told the Russian leader that there will be ‘no more empire’, declaring that Ukraine and other Eastern European countries would never again join the ‘Russian empire’
Johnson, 60, also warned that the West is “pulling back” and that Donald Trump “would not do everything… to help Ukraine” unless NATO members increase their defense spending (photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensy with Boris Johnson in September 2023)
Johnson chided Germany and other NATO members for demanding President-elect Donald Trump send aid to Ukraine while failing to meet their own military spending commitments.
He said: “Until we take that seriously, I don’t see how we can convince the Trump administration to do everything it can to help Ukraine.
“I don’t understand how Germany can just sit there and refuse to spend enough on defense, demand that Trump help Ukraine, and say they don’t want to send frozen Russian 300 billion to Ukraine. It’s absurd.’
The former Conservative leader also complained about “stupid” objections from officials to Ukraine’s armament, which prevented British anti-tank missiles from arriving in the country until about a month before the Russian invasion.
“The problem was the British system itself – our officials at the Foreign Office and elsewhere who simply … made the stupidest arguments,” he said.
“I’m not saying they were stupid, but I think their objections were wrong.”
Mr Johnson is credited with rallying European support for Ukraine after Putin’s invasion in February 2022.
He was the first Western leader to visit their capital Kiev after the outbreak of war, returning twice during his time in office.