George W Bush denounces 'brutal' invasion of Iraq instead of Ukraine in speech mix-up

Former US president George W Bush accidentally condemned the "brutal" invasion of Iraq in a slip of the tongue, before backtracking and denouncing Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The 43rd president had been making a speech about the importance of fair elections at an event in Dallas, Texas before he made the gaffe.

He said: "In contrast, Russian elections were rigged. Political opponents imprisoned or otherwise are eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia."

Before adding: "The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq... I mean of Ukraine."

The remark was then laughed off before the former president blamed his age for the mistake.

He added "Iraq too" under his breath before stating "I'm 75" - a joke that was met with laughter from the crowd.

During Mr Bush's tenure in office, the US invaded Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein's authoritarian government.

The ensuing conflict resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens.

The eventual toppling of Hussein's dictatorship came after claims of biological and nuclear weapons.

The slip from the former president was met with heavy criticism on social media.

He also went on to compare Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill, while condemning Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine.