World leaders and former officials have turned to “crazy” Vladimir Putin as the foreign minister called on Russian generals to stage a coup to stop the dictator’s “royal fantasy”.
FCDO Minister James Cleverley said military leaders knew the Russian president was increasingly isolated and “illogical” as he tried to “recreate the Russian Empire in his mind.”
And in an extremely unusual step, he actually called on them to make a coup, saying that “they are able to stop this and we call on them to do so.”
James Cleverley (left) says military leaders know that Vladimir Putin (right) is increasingly “isolated” and “illogical” as he tries to “recreate the Russian Empire in his mind.”
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary general, told ITV’s Peston program that Russia’s current behavior was not rational or logical.
Czech President Milos Zeman said it was a mistake to once believe that Putin was not “crazy enough” to attack Ukraine – calling the autocrat “crazy”.
Extraordinary intervention came when ministers warned that Mr Putin seemed increasingly unstable after a strange address to the nation in which he spoke at length about the history of the Soviet Union.
Ukrainian MP Vadim Galaychuk repeated this in an interview with Sky News, when he said: “The Kremlin has just gone crazy.”
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said yesterday that he seemed to have “passed Tonto”.
A cabinet minister told MailOnline earlier this week that the Russian prime minister may have played too much on Call of Duty.
A convoy of army trucks passes by a police post in the city of Armyansk, Northern Crimea today
Today, Boris Johnson promised to “hook” the Russian economy with a “massive” package of sanctions, insisting that the West “will not look away” from the invasion of Ukraine.
In a speech from Downing Street, the prime minister said that Vladimir Putin could not be allowed to “extinguish” freedom in Ukraine with an act of “reckless and reckless aggression.”
He said Putin had “unleashed war” on the continent and that the West must respond to ensure the possible “failure” of his offensive “diplomatically, politically, economically and ultimately militarily.” In a harsh message to Germany and Italy, among others, Mr Johnson also called on the countries to cut off gas and oil supplies from Moscow.
“Today, together with our allies, we will agree on a massive package of economic sanctions designed in time to stop the Russian economy. To that end, we must also collectively end our dependence on Russian oil and gas, which have given Putin control over Western policy for too long, “he said.
“Our mission is clear. Diplomatically, politically, economically, and finally, militarily, this disgusting and barbaric undertaking by Vladimir Putin must end in failure.
During a series of interviews this morning, Mr Cleverley told Sky News: “Ukraine is not part of Russia. The fantasy that President Putin is trying to play – to create a kind of tsarist expansionist Russia – must be stopped.
Boris Johnson announced today that Putin has “chosen the path of bloodshed and destruction” in Ukraine after launching “horrific attacks” on his neighbor
Russia has invaded Ukraine from the north, south and east as it fires missiles across the country
He added: “The military leaders around Vladimir Putin, they need to know that this is a catastrophically bad assessment by Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine is a huge country physically. I have no doubt that the Ukrainian people will be fierce in defending their homeland.
“Military leaders need to know that this will cost a huge price – not only for the Ukrainians, but also for the Russians.
“They are in a position, even if Vladimir Putin does not do it, they are able to stop it and we urge them to do it.”
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said he opposes Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, as he was facing trial after President Vladimir Putin launched an attack.
Alexei Navalny uses appearing against him on old fraud charges to condemn Putin’s war in Ukraine (photo file)
“I am against this war,” Navalny was heard saying in a video of the prison trial, published by the independent newspaper Dozhd.
“This war between Russia and Ukraine was unleashed to cover up the theft by Russian citizens and to divert their attention from the problems that exist inside the country,” he said.
Dressed in a prison uniform, Navalny said the war would “lead to huge casualties, destroy the future and continue this line of impoverishment of Russian citizens.”
He is being tried in maximum security prison, where he has been detained outside Moscow on new charges that could extend his time behind bars by a decade.
His allies said the process, which began last week, was purposefully timed to coincide with the crisis in Ukraine.
Navalny has been behind bars for a year on old charges of fraud, after surviving a poison attack, he and the West blame the Kremlin.