Vladimir Putin has vowed to "finish off" Ukraine in a blistering rant which saw the Russian premier take pot-shots at Britain's army and economy.
Putin, 72, had been visiting a troupe of his submariners at an Arctic naval base when he launched into a string of verbal attacks on the UK and Ukraine.
"Not long ago, I said we'd grind [Ukraine] down... Now, it looks like we'll finish them off," the Russian President blasted.
"[Britain] is jumping on us, behaving aggressively... but their economy is, I think, in the ninth or tenth place in the world," he added.
Vladimir Putin said his troops would 'finish them off'
REUTERS
"Hence the armed forces - what is it, 170,000 or 180,000? That's all the armed forces of the UK!"
Putin's remarks were accurate when considering purchasing power parity (PPP), which takes into account a nation's economy relative to the cost of local goods and services - and Britain does indeed sit tenth worldwide.
But in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) - the total value of all goods and services produced - Britain is the sixth-largest economy, while Putin's Russia sits in 11th place, $1.5trillion behind the UK.
His words came just as Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron confirmed they were preparing to send a Franco-British team of military chiefs to Ukraine ahead of the potential rollout of a peacekeeping force on Putin's doorstep.
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Putin had been visiting a troupe of his submariners at an Arctic naval base when he launched into a string of verbal attacks
REUTERS
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The two European allies have vowed to help put any peace deal into operation - whatever it ends up looking like.
But at a mass conference of the "coalition of the willing" in Paris yesterday, Starmer accused Putin's Russia of stalling progress to peace.
"We agreed here in Paris today that it's clear the Russians are filibustering," the Prime Minister said. "They are playing games and playing for time."
Putin has long voiced his opposition to any such force - and has called for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to be ousted and for the Government to be replaced by an internationally-supervised interim administration.
Britain and France have vowed to help put any peace deal into operation - whatever it ends up looking like
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The UN has insisted that Ukraine has a legitimate government which must be respected, while the Kremlin has vowed that Putin had not raised ay such idea with Donald Trump on a recent phone call.
Putin's, Starmer's and Macron's words all come as Ukraine and the US are still thrashing out the details of a minerals deal which could mark the start of peace with Russia.
The latest American proposal would require Kyiv to send Washington all profit from an investment fund controlling Ukrainian resources until Ukraine had repaid all American wartime aid, plus interest.
Zelensky maintains that he accepts the idea, but has vowed not to sign an agreement which would impoverish his country.
On Thursday, he said Washington was constantly changing the terms but stressed that he did not want the US to think he was opposed in principle.