London: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to hit Britain with a missile just before he ordered his military to invade Ukraine. Putin’s threat to Johnson came over a phone call shortly before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to a new BBC documentary.
A BBC documentary shows Boris Johnson how Putin warned him he could send missiles to strike Britain “within a minute”. Johnson also told the documentary makers that Putin’s threat came after he warned during a “very long” call in February 2022 that the war would be “a complete catastrophe”.
The documentary, which is due to air on Monday, reveals details of the lengthy phone conversation between the two leaders and also examines Putin’s interactions with world leaders.
The documentary also reveals that the UK PM warned Putin against invading Ukraine, which he said would lead to Western sanctions and more NATO troops on Russia’s borders. Johnson tried to deter Russian military action by telling Putin that Ukraine would not join NATO “for the foreseeable future”.
However, Putin was not convinced, Johnson claimed, adding that “he (the Russian leader) threatened me at one point, saying, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it Just a minute’ or something like that.”
The former UK PM also revealed that he and other Western leaders were rushing to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine and try to fend off a Russian attack. Johnson, during those days, emerged as one of the most passionate Western supporters of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Nine days later, on 11 February, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace flew to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
The BBC documentary “Putin Versus the West” reveals that Wallace assured Russia that Russia would not invade Ukraine, but added that both sides knew this was a lie. He described it as “bullying or a show of strength, which is: I’m going to lie to you, you know I’m lying and I know you know I’m lying and I I will still lie to you.
The documentary states that less than a fortnight after Russian tanks rolled over the border on 24 February, the UK PM received a call from President Zelensky in the middle of the night. “Zelensky was very, very quiet,” Johnson recalled. “But, he tells me, you know, they’re attacking everywhere,” he said. Johnson also offered to help move the President of Ukraine to a safe location, however, he refused to leave his country.