Russian president Vladimir Putin has mocked the United Kingdom and made a chilling claim that his country could soon 'finish off' Ukraine.
The 72-year-old political leader, who recently gave Donald Trump an ominous warning amid his plans to take over Greenland, was speaking during a visit to an Arctic naval base yesterday (27 March).
While standing aboard a new nuclear-powered submarine, Putin appeared confident that this latest addition could bring a worrying end to the war with Ukraine, which has been ongoing since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
"Not long ago I said we'd grind [Ukraine] down - now it looks like we'll finish them off," he claimed.
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While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems confident that Putin's days are numbered, the Russian leader seemed in an almost jovial mood at the naval base, even taking the time to mock the state of the UK's economy.
His comments come in the wake of Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron's promise to deploy an Anglo-French 'reassurance force' to Ukraine following a ceasefire deal.
However, the UK Prime Minister also suggested that the force will 'require the engagement and support of the United States', which is looking increasingly unlikely following Trump and JD Vance's heated exchange with Zelenskyy in the White House just a few weeks ago.
Speaking yesterday, Putin said: "[Britain] is jumping on us, behaving aggressively... but their economy is, I think, in the ninth or tenth place in the world.
"Hence the armed forces - what is it, 170,000 or 180,000? That's all the armed forces of the UK!"
Current statistics suggest that in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the United Kingdom actually sits in sixth place in the world, whereas Russia is down in 11th, perhaps in part due to the sanctions that were imposed on the country when it first invaded Ukraine.
The EU recently suggested that it would only lift sanctions in response to 'the unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces' from Ukraine.
However, Putin's research on the size of the British military is far more accurate as, according to Gov.uk in January, the current strength of the UK Armed Forces is 180,780. There are reportedly 1.5 million personnel in the Russian army, by comparison.
Russia and Ukraine recently agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea in separate deals with the US, after three days of peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Despite that, Russia is still demanding concessions and reportedly didn't respond to Ukraine's offer of a 30-day total ceasefire, which tragically suggests that there is no end in sight for this devastating war.
Topics: Politics, Russia, Vladimir Putin, World News, UK News
James Moorhouse