Vladimir Putin was called “crazy” and “macho” by Boris Johnson today, who claimed that a lady Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine.
As the Russian tyrant attended a vital session with NATO leaders in Madrid, the PM denounced his “toxic masculinity.”
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, entered the fray as well, calling Putin a “lunatic” with “little man syndrome.”
After G7 leaders mocked the president for his testosterone-fueled photo ops, the highly personal jabs followed.
Mr. Johnson, Justin Trudeau, and Ursula von der Leyen of the EU were overheard joking that they ought to perform some “bare-chested horseback riding” to demonstrate that they were “tougher” than Putin at a conference in Germany.
Added developments in the current Ukraine crisis include:
Ben Wallace acknowledged the Tories will break a manifesto pledge on defense spending and called for “increased investment” as Mr Johnson urged NATO members to boost funding; Mr Johnson said Finland and Sweden moving to join the alliance shows that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has backfired; Britain is enforcing sanctio-militarism; and Joe Biden promised to send two F-35 squadrons to the UK and two destroyers to Spain as he strengthens US forces in Europe against the Russian threat.
Mr. Johnson said to German broadcaster ZDF: “If Putin were a woman, which he obviously isn’t, but if he were, I really don’t think he would’ve embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has.” Mr. Johnson was speaking as he prepared to travel from the G7 summit in Bavaria to NATO.
What he is doing in Ukraine is the ideal illustration of toxic masculinity, according to others.
He stated that “you need more women in positions of power” in his remarks.
Mr. Wallace said this morning on LBC that he believes Putin has a macho, small-man syndrome perspective on the world and himself.
You don’t often hear the term “little woman syndrome.” He exemplifies the phrase “little man syndrome” to a tee.
The G7 summit was ‘amazing,’ according to Mr. Johnson, as leaders ‘came closer and closer.
‘The logic is that while everyone wants the conflict to end—they want it to end now—there isn’t a compromise that can be reached.
“Putin is not offering a deal, and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky cannot propose a settlement,” said the Russian leader.
In order to alter the nature of the conflict and put Mr. Zelensky “in the best possible position to talk, if and when discussions inevitably arrive,” the PM said the West must support Kyiv’s military policy.
He declared, “We truly do want to provide the Ukrainians tactical endurance.”
Arriving at NATO, Mr. Johnson declared that Sweden and Finland’s applications had proven Putin’s predictions of a weaker alliance as a result of his aggressiveness to be “absolutely wrong.”
Following Turkey’s withdrawal of its concerns, the two Nordic nations are on track to shed their historical neutrality and join the defense alliance.
The PM claimed that as a result of Mr. Putin’s actions in Ukraine, NATO is growing, not contracting.
The prime minister will use the summit to increase the UK’s military involvement in Estonia, where it already has a sizable military presence.
According to officials, this will guarantee that the UK can quickly deploy artillery, air defense, and helicopters as well as send reinforcements as needed.
The UK will dedicate assets in land, air, and sea to the “new force model,” and the alliance expects to have 300,000 troops at high readiness, up from the present 40,000.
In response to Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked, illegal invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Johnson stated: “The first lesson really from today is that if Vladimir Putin was hoping he would be getting less Nato on his western front as a result, he’s been proven utterly incorrect – he’s getting more Nato.”
In many ways, this summit is historic, but we already have Finland and Sweden joining, which is a big step for our alliance.
“And what we’re going to be doing now is talking about what more we can do as an alliance to support the Ukrainians but also what we need to think about the lessons of the last few months and the necessity for Nato to adjust its posture on its eastern flank.”
The Madrid conference will center on the alliance’s future in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the growth of China as a military force in addition to clearing the way for Sweden and Finland to join.
As part of his commitment to the alliance, US President Joe Biden stated that two extra F-35 fighter jet squadrons will be sent to the UK and a new permanent headquarters will be established in Poland.
He said: “Today I’m announcing the United States will bolster our collective security and respond to the changing threat environment by enhancing our force posture in Europe.”
At a time when Boris Johnson is kicking off a NATO conference and asking partners to enhance financing, Mr. Wallace today acknowledged that the Tories will break a manifesto promise on defense spending. He also advocated for “greater investment.”
The defense secretary stated that as inflation surges toward 11%, the government will not be able to hike budgets by 0.5 percentage points more than inflation.
However, he stoked a simmering Cabinet feud by calling for an increase in military spending starting in the middle of the decade, claiming that the threat posed by Russia requires the correction of “certain vulnerabilities.”
Today, Mr. Johnson will issue a call for nations to “dig deep” in order to counter the threat posed by Vladimir Putin, foreseeing a perilous decade ahead.
He will urge the alliance to consider boosting its goal of allocating 2% of gross domestic product for defense.
No government, according to Mr. Wallace, has ever kept every promise made in its platform.
He claimed that the election platform outlined “what we are going to try to deliver,” adding that things “would have been different” if ministers had been made aware of Covid’s impending arrival.
Even though Mr. Wallace had enough money for the “here and now,” he claimed that additional funds will be required starting in the middle of the decade for the next cycle of government spending.
In the middle of the decade, when we were replacing some of our technology, we were ready to accept certain weaknesses. I believe that has changed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he told Sky News.
“For this reason, in my opinion, negotiations about finance for the middle of the decade are crucial. We are properly situated right now. What transpires in the decade’s midsection is the subject of discussion.
I reached a settlement before Russia attacked Ukraine. On the international stage, Russia is extremely hazardous.
The globe is less secure than it was two or three years ago, and nothing in the next ten years appears to change that.
In the middle of the decade, “it is the time to say we should commit to increased investment.”
Mr. Wallace and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who both seek a significant increase in spending as a response to the situation in Ukraine, look to be on a collision course with Mr. Johnson.
Yesterday, Mr. Wallace made an astonishing statement in which he cautioned that there was a “serious risk” that Russia could “reach out” against the UK and its European allies.
The British military, according to the Defence Secretary, had to rely on a “diet of smoke and mirrors, hollowed-out formations, and imaginary savings” for a length of time.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, stated: “We will agree to a significant change in our deterrence and defense.”
“With more battle formations deployed farther forward.” with more forces in high readiness. additional equipment that has been placed beforehand.
“This summit will agree on the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.”
The new strategic framework for the alliance replaces the one that was created in 2010, when relations with the Kremlin were better and Russia was considered a “strategic partner.”
“I expect that leaders will express clearly that Russia poses a direct danger to our security,” the Nato commander stated when leaders agreed on the strategic idea today.
China “is a challenge to our principles, to our interests, and to our security,” he claimed, and the allies will concur.
China is not an enemy, but we must, of course, consider the implications for our security when we observe China investing heavily in new, cutting-edge military capabilities, long-range missiles, nuclear weapons, as well as trying to control critical infrastructure, like 5G networks in our own countries.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss used a speech at the summit event to caution that “there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea which leads in a catastrophic error such as invading Taiwan” as China “extends its influence through economic pressure and builds a proficient military”.
She stated: “That is exactly what we saw in the case of Ukraine, a strategic error by Putin, so this is why it’s so important that the free world work together to help ensure that Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to emphasize the significance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”