The “crazy, macho” invasion in Ukraine that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the words of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “is a magnificent instance of toxic masculinity,” and the crisis would have been avoided had Putin been a woman.
Johnson said on Tuesday night to German network ZDF, “If Putin were a woman, which he obviously isn’t, but if he were, I honestly don’t think he would’ve started on a wild, macho campaign of invasion and murder in the manner that he has.”
The statement wasn’t warmly received in Russia. Johnson’s remarks frightened Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that “good old (psychoanalyst Sigmund) Freud would have enjoyed to have had such a subject for his research in his lifetime.”
According to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Johnson was charged with harbouring “sweaty fantasies.” In reference to a recent gathering of the Group of Seven leaders in Germany, she questioned through the messaging app Telegram, “What have the seven been doing together?”
Before a NATO conference where members would discuss how to counter potential threats, Johnson made his remarks. Despite the fact that Downing Street claims the comment is “not a conscious policy” to disparage Mr. Putin in public. In order for Ukraine to be in the greatest possible strategic position in the event that peace discussions with Moscow do become feasible, backing from Western partners is required, he continued.
The British Prime Minister also admitted this during the ZDF interview: “It goes without saying that people want the conflict to stop, but at the time,” no agreement was available. Putin isn’t offering a peace proposal. Johnson’s remarks on the Russian president are similar to those he made earlier this week while speaking with the G7 leaders at a gathering in Germany. The leaders made fun of Mr. Putin’s macho depiction, with Mr. Johnson making the joke that they should “show them our pecs” to demonstrate that “we’re tougher than Putin.”