Boris Johnson stated that Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike in an “extraordinary” phone call before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Mr. Putin informed the then-prime minister that it “would barely take a minute.”
Mr. Johnson stated that the remark was made after he warned that the war would be a “complete disaster.”
A BBC documentary about Mr. Putin’s encounters with international leaders over the years makes the assertion. The Kremlin spokesman stated that it was false.
Mr. Johnson warned Mr. Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would result in Western sanctions and the deployment of additional NATO soldiers to Russia’s borders.
To discourage Russian military action, he also informed Mr. Putin that Ukraine would not join NATO “shortly.”
However, Mr. Johnson said: “At one point, he threatened me by saying, “Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would just take a minute,” or words of that effect. Jolly.
Based on his relaxed demeanour and detachment, I think he was just playing along with my negotiations.
Boris Johnson claims Putin threatened missile strike
Mr. Johnson stated that President Putin had been “extremely familiar” during the “most unusual call.”
No mention of the exchange surfaced in media reports of the call made by Downing Street. However, a Number 10 official always takes thorough minutes of all official phone calls and stores them in the archive.
It is impossible to determine whether Mr. Putin’s warning was real.
Given previous Russian attacks on the United Kingdom, most recently in Salisbury in 2018, Mr. Johnson likely had no choice but to take any threat from the Russian leader seriously, regardless of how carelessly it was delivered.
Mr. Putin’s spokesman responded that the former prime minister’s assertion was false “Either it was a purposeful lie, in which case you must inquire as to why Mr. Johnson lied, or it was not a deliberate lie. In other words, he did not comprehend what President Putin was telling him “.
Dmitry Peskov told, “There were no threats to use missiles.”
According to him, the Kremlin leader had only stated that “if Ukraine joined NATO, the prospective deployment of NATO or US missiles near Russia’s border would mean that any missile could reach Moscow in minutes.”
Since the invasion, President Putin has warned countries who may attempt to intervene that Russia’s retaliation would be swift, even implying the use of nuclear weapons.
On 11 February, nine days following Mr. Johnson’s talk with President Putin, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace traveled to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
Putin Vs. the West, Mr. Wallace received promises that Russia would not attack Ukraine, but he stated that all sides understood it was a deception.
“I’m going to lie to you, you know I’m lying, and I know you know I’m lying,” he said.
Mr. Wallace stated, “I believe that was a statement of ‘I am powerful’.”
The “pretty terrifying but direct untruth” reaffirmed his assumption that Russia would invade, he stated.
As he exited the conference, Russia’s chief of military staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said, “We will never be humiliated again.”
In the months running up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, William Burns, director of the CIA, arrived in Moscow on November 2, 2021. This was a key encounter.
Mr. Burns had circled the Russian city for hours due to dense fog. But when he eventually got to the Kremlin, he discovered that Mr. Putin was not present. Instead of that, he sought refuge in the southern Russian city of Sochi during an outbreak of Covid infections.
The two spoke via telephone.
President Biden had instructed the CIA director to give the following warning to Vladimir Putin: the United States knew what Mr. Putin was up to, and he would pay a severe price if he launched an invasion.
He said the Russian president acknowledged preparations and listed complaints against Ukraine and the West.
“Before arriving in Moscow, I was afflicted. After leaving, I was considerably more worried “Mr. Burns added.
Mr. Johnson received a phone call in the middle of the night from President Zelensky less than two weeks after the British defense minister departed Moscow, as tanks crossed the border on February 24.
Mr. Johnson recalled, “Zelensky is quite tranquil.” However, he informs me that they are attacking everywhere.
Mr. Johnson claims that he offered to assist in moving the president to safety.
“He does not accept my invitation. He courageously remained where he was.”
