No one is pushing them into a corner - they're not being attacked.
Well, exactly. Trying to stop Russia running riot, in a genocidal invasion of a democratic sovereign nation is not 'pushing them into a corner', ffs
He's expressed his support & admiration of Putin many times. For years.
There was also a mysterious visit to Assange, a Putin asset, at the Embassy.
His Brexit partner, Arron Banks is a huge Putin fan as well & it's pretty much established both have had extensive Kremlin funding