While Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine has sparked a flurry of theories about the Russian leader flat-out losing his mind or suffering from a terminal illness, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says it’s all much simpler than that—he’s just exhibiting “toxic masculinity.” In an interview with German media following the G-7 summit on Tuesday, Johnson said Putin’s “macho” mentality is at least partly to blame for the bloodshed in Ukraine. “If Putin were a woman, which he obviously isn’t, if he were, I really don’t think he would have embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has,” Johnson was quoted telling ZDF. “If you want a perfect example of toxic masculinity, it’s what he is doing in Ukraine,” he said. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also later joined in, telling LBC radio that he suspects Putin suffers from “small man syndrome.” “I think he’s certainly got it in spades,” he said. The Kremlin was quick to respond to Johnson’s remarks on Wednesday, with Putin’s official spokesman Dmitry Peskov quipping that “old Freud would have dreamed of such a subject to study during his lifetime!”
