President Vladimir Putin threatened to personally goal Boris Johnson with a missile assault simply earlier than ordering Russian forces into Ukraine, the previous UK prime minister has claimed.
The obvious risk got here in a cellphone name simply forward of the invasion on February 24, in line with a brand new BBC documentary to be broadcast on Monday.
Johnson and different Western leaders had been hurrying to Kyiv to indicate help for Ukraine and attempt to deter a Russian assault.
“He kind of threatened me at one level and stated, ‘Boris, I do not wish to damage you, however with a missile, it will solely take a minute’, or one thing like that,” Johnson quoted Putin as saying.
Johnson emerged as one of the crucial impassioned Western backers of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
However previous to the invasion, he says he was at pains to inform Putin that there was no imminent prospect of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, whereas warning him that any invasion would imply “extra NATO, not much less NATO” on Russia’s borders.
“He stated, ‘Boris, you say that Ukraine is just not going to hitch NATO any time quickly.
“‘What’s any time quickly?’ And I stated, ‘properly it isn’t going to hitch NATO for the foreseeable future. You recognize that completely properly’.”
On the missile risk, Johnson added: “I believe from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the kind of air of detachment that he appeared to have, he was simply taking part in together with my makes an attempt to get him to barter.”
The BBC documentary charts the rising divide between the Russian chief and the West within the years earlier than the invasion of Ukraine.
It additionally options Zelensky reflecting on his thwarted ambitions to hitch NATO previous to Russia’s assault.
“If you realize that tomorrow Russia will occupy Ukraine, why do not you give me one thing right this moment I can cease it with?” he says.
“Or if you cannot give it to me, then cease it your self.”