PM jibes at Putin’s ‘illogical and irrational frame of mind’ as ministers brand rambling TV speech ‘bizarre’ and suggest he has been playing too much ‘Call of Duty’
Boris Johnson swiped at Vladimir Putin’s ‘illogical and irrational frame of mind’ today as ministers branded his rambling TV address ‘bizarre’.
The PM suggested the Russian president did not ‘care’ about the ‘very considerable’ economic punishment his country will suffer over the invasion of Ukraine because he is not thinking clearly.
The jibe came after Mr Putin delivered a long televised speech to the Russian people dwelling on the historical status of Ukraine.
He was flanked by an array of telephones on his desk, as well as a console featuring a bewildering number of white buttons.
There was also an extraordinary stilted performance on camera as he ‘consulted’ his chief aides about whether they should recognise separatist areas.
One Cabinet minister told MailOnline that the speech had been ‘bizarre’ and suggested he might have been playing too many war-based video games.
‘Those phones were something else, like a Soviet throwback. He was probably playing Call of Duty as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.’
Vladimir Putin delivered a long televised speech to the Russian people last night dwelling on the historical status of Ukraine
Wider shots showed he was flanked by an array of telephones on his desk, as well as a console featuring a bewildering number of white buttons
Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Johnson said: ‘We are in a position to impose very considerable economic costs on Putin.
‘The question is whether he is going to care enough about it because he is clearly in an illogical and irrational frame of mind.’
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also waded in, complaining that Mr Putin’s speech had been littered with historical ‘inaccuracies’.
‘If you want to know what his next intentions are, I recommend you listen to his latest speech that he made last night, full of huge inaccuracies, one of them is that Ukraine is not a proper state,’ Mr Wallace said after a meeting of ministers in the East Midlands.
‘I should remind people Ukraine has been separate to Russia as a nation longer than it’s been part of Russia. That’s a simple fact of history. You should look at the history books and not selectively pick dates that suit the narrative.’
Boris Johnson suggested the Russian president did not ‘care’ about the ‘very considerable’ economic punishment his country will suffer over the invasion of Ukraine because he is not thinking clearly
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