Putin in ‘total panic’ about prospect of pro-democracy uprising, Johnson claims

Boris Johnson dismissed Vladimir Putin’s “crazy essay” about the historical unity of the people of the two countries as “semi-mystical guff” and “Nostradamus meets Russian Wikipedia”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledges his supporters after speaking at the Conservative Party spring forum in Blackpool (Peter Byrne/PA)

Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of his neighbour was motivated by the fear a successful Ukraine would trigger a pro-democracy revolution in Moscow, Boris Johnson said.

The British Prime Minister said Mr Putin was in a “total panic” about the prospect of a popular uprising if freedom was allowed to flourish in Kyiv.