Sikorski was responding to a speech made by Putin on a visit to North Korea in which he argued that a Ukrainian victory could bring down the curtain on Russia.

Strategic defeat, he claimed, would mean the end of Russian “statehood”.

“It means the end of a 1,000 year history of the Russian state. I think that is clear to everyone,” he added.

Taking a swipe at the Russian president, Sikorski also pointed out that Putin was incorrect on a fundamental fact of Russia’s history.

"Vladimir Putin is worried that his defeat in Ukraine will mark the end of 1,000 years of Russian statehood,” Sikorski wrote on X. “But these fears are exaggerated. Firstly, Moscow was only founded in 1147."

He added that Russia survived defeats in the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War at the beginning of the 20th century, World War I, the Polish-Soviet war in 1920, Afghanistan, and in the Cold War.

"After empires, national states can continue to exist," Sikorski continued.