Televangelist Pat Robertson says Putin’s march on Ukraine is the beginning of the ‘end times’

Televangelist Pat Robertson came out of his retirement to say Russia’s president Vladimir Putin was “compelled by God” to invade Ukraine.

The televangelist added the shocking claim that Mr Putin’s attack on Ukraine was in preparation for a massive “end times” invasion of Israel.

The 91-year-old insisted this was all a part of an “end times” battle and that Mr Putin was just following God’s plan.

Mr Robertson said: “People say that Putin’s out of his mind. Yes, maybe so. But at the same time, he’s being compelled by God. He went into Ukraine but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”

The ageing televangelist continued to say that Russia was using Ukraine as a “staging area” and God had put “hooks” in the Russian president’s “jaws” for a reason to draw him to this stage.

“Is Putin mad? Is Putin crazy? Perhaps. But God says I am going to put hooks in your jaws, I am gonna draw you into this… whether you like it or not,” he said.

Mr Robertson made an appearance on The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) on Monday and claimed God had his conspiracy that was being implemented via Mr Putin.

“All of those troops there are going to be coming against Israel in the latter days. And God says, ‘I am going to take care of it’,” he said.

He told the viewers to “read your Bible because it’s coming to pass”.

Meanwhile, Kyiv was rocked by massive explosions just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held ceasefire negotiations in Belarus.

The International Criminal Court has also said it will investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

One US senator, Chris Murphy, has warned the fight for Kyiv will be “long and bloody”.