Boris Johnson accidentally thanks Vladimir Putin for 'inspirational leadership' instead of Zelenskyy

To say Boris Johnson has made a few slip-ups during his political career would be one of the biggest understatements of the year. Here's his latest:

And while he might not be prime minister as a result of said slip-ups, he's still managing to mince his words in parliament.

Case in point – as you can see in the footage above, Boris just accidentally thanked Vladimir Putin for his 'inspirational leadership' throughout Russia's war on Ukraine.

Of course, he meant to say Volodymyr Zelenskyy and he swiftly corrected himself – but you can't help but despair, especially given it was his first major contribution as backbench MP.

It's like the time he referred to Africa as 'that country' while serving as the UK's Foreign Secretary. You can't make this stuff up.

There are a fair few comments flying about referring to the gaffe as a Freudian slip – a verbal mistake considered to be part of the unconscious mind.

Alfredas Pliadis/Alamy Stock Photo

One person shared a clip of the awkward mishap on Twitter, writing: "When you are in love with the personality of a leader and you always have him in your mind... the good thing is that he is gone."

"Aaa, classic Freudian slip..." said another alongside a laughing emoji.

While BoJo's blunder is certainly amusing for many, it arrived in a very serious debate on what to be done about the war on Ukraine.

The former PM said the UK needs to 'double down' on its defence of the country if Putin does the same with 'aggression'.

The news arrives after Putin's televised address earlier this week in which the Russian president ordered the country's first mobilisation since World War II.

According to an Associated Press news agency translation, he said: "I consider it necessary to support the proposal of the defence ministry and the General Staff to conduct a partial mobilisation in the Russian Federation.

"We are talking about partial mobilisation. That is, only citizens who are currently in the reserves and, above all, those who have served in the armed forces have military skills and relevant experience. Only they will be subject to conscription."

Frank Nowikowski/Alamy Stock Photo

Putin continued: "Conscripts will obligatorily go through additional military training based on the experience of the special military operation before departing to the units."

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said he forecasted around 300,000 reservists being called to fight in Ukraine.

If this turns out to be true, they will be chosen from the country's vast reserves pool of around 25 million people.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information