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The former United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson mistakenly thanked the president of Russia Vladimir Putin for his "inspirational leadership".

The slip up

Johnson intended to thank the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech in the House of Commons on Sep. 23, but slipped up, as reported by Sky News.

This was the former PM's first major contribution as a backbench member of parliament since his resignation as PM.

"Thanks also, of course, to the inspirational leadership of Vladimir Putin," said Johnson before he quickly realised his error and rectified it, saying, "The inspirational leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky, forgive me."

You can watch the slip up below.

UK must stay the course and support Ukraine

During the general commons debate on the war in Ukraine, Johnson said the UK government must be prepared to give "more military assistance" and "more economic support", The National wrote.

"If Putin is going to double down on his aggression, then we must double down in our defence of the Ukrainians."

Johnson is a key ally of Zelensky.

The UK supplied some £2.3 billion (S$3.5 billion) to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia during his time as PM, the BBC reported.

He added that the UK has "no choice but to stay the course" and support Ukraine until the Russian forces are defeated.

His successor and current UK PM Liz Truss has pledged to match or exceed this in 2023.

You can watch Boris Johnson's full speech below.

About Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine

It has been 212 days since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Johnson said he has "no doubt that the Ukrainians will win", adding that Ukrainian forces have recaptured large parts of Kharkiv, which lies in the country's northeast region.

He added that the Ukrainian forces are also planning to take back Kherson, and have been making advancements in the front line against Russian troops on the ground.

Partial mobilisation announced on Sep. 21

Separately, Putin announced on Sep. 21 that Russia will have its first partial mobilisation since World War II, where up to 300,000 reservists will be called up for a "special operation" in Ukraine.

Reuters reported that the mobilised troops will be sent to shore up Russian military operations in Ukraine, and will be called up a span of several months.

Death toll

On the same day of Putin's announcement, Russian Defence Minister said 5,937 of the country's soldiers had been killed since the start of the conflict.

The previous official death toll was given over six months ago on Mar. 25, where 1,351 Russian soldiers was said to have been killed.

According to the New York Times report on Aug. 24, these figures are lower than the Pentagon officials' estimates, who believe that Russia's death toll lie around 20,000 in August 2022.

Separately, the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Force Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Aug. 24 that about 9,000 Ukrainians had been killed in conflict.

More recently, United Nations' Head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine Matilda Bogner said on Sep. 9 that there are 14,059 civilian casualties to date, of which 5,767 people were killed, while 8,292 other were injured.

However, she said "actual numbers are likely considerably higher".

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Top image screenshot from The Sun/YouTube