Boris Johnson talked about Putin’s missile threat in the BBC film

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike during a telephone conversation in February on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“At some point he sort of threatened me and said: ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile it will only take a minute,’ or something like that,” Johnson quotes the words of the Russian president in the documentary the film “Putin vs. the West”, which is released on January 30 on the BBC.

The long telephone conversation took place in February last year, and Putin’s comment came after Johnson’s warning that the war in Ukraine would have catastrophic consequences, as it would lead to Western sanctions.

Johnson also tried to convey to the Russian president that Ukraine will not join NATO in the near future, and warned him that any invasion would mean “more NATO, not less NATO” at Russia’s borders. According to the former British prime minister, during the conversation he got the impression that Putin “simply played along” with Johnson’s requests to persuade him to negotiate.

The Russian side reported on the telephone conversation between Putin and Johnson on February 2, 2022 — a day after the then British Prime Minister’s trip to Kyiv, where he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Kremlin’s message about Putin’s phone conversation with Johnson stated that there was a “sufficiently detailed exchange of views” both on the issue of Ukraine and on Russian demands for so-called security guarantees. The President of Russia, in particular, stated that NATO is not ready to “adequately respond” to “Russian concerns”.

A representative of the British prime minister said that Johnson expressed deep concern about Russian “hostile behavior” on the border with Ukraine and said that any Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory would be a “tragic mistake.”

Johnson has visited Ukraine several times since February of last year, his last visit was on January 22.

Following the meeting with Zelensky, Johnson called for redoubled efforts to provide Ukraine with everything it needs. The former British prime minister said that the best end to the war is a victory for Ukraine, and the sooner Vladimir Putin is defeated, the better it will be not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world.