Hyderabad: Britain's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened him with a missile strike in an "extraordinary" phone call in February, 2022. The purported threat was issued in the run-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022.
Making shocking revelations in a BBC documentary, Johnson said: "He threatened me at one point & he said, 'I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that”. The threat came after Johnson allegedly warned that the war on Ukraine would turn out to be an 'utter catastrophe'.
Johnson disclosed details of these threats in the BBC documentary titled 'Putin Vs The West' which will be broadcast on Monday. The much anticipated documentary details the Russian President's interactions with the world leaders during the course of the invasion. The former PM might have received Putin's threatening call sometime in second week of February as it came a fortnight before Ukrainina President called him on February 24, 2022.
Also Read: UK PM Johnson chairs emergency meeting over Ukraine crisis
The former leader's revelations dropped a bombshell ahead of the broadcast of the BBC documentary. "But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate," Johnson was quoted as saying in the documentary.
Boris Johnson said that he warned Putin that invading Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and more NATO troops on Russia's borders. He also tried to deter Russian military action by telling Putin that Ukraine would not join Nato "for the foreseeable future", the BBC reported. Johnson further said that "Putin had been very familiar during the most extraordinary call".
The former leader's claims however, have been been officially verified. The BBC documentary also features Defence Secretary Ben Wallace who had flown to Moscow on February 11, 2022, to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The film revealed that Wallace left with assurances that Russia would not invade Ukraine, but he said both sides knew it was a lie.
Wallace described it as a "demonstration of bullying or 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'm still going to lie to you. I think it was about saying 'I'm powerful'". Wallace went on to say that the "fairly chilling, but direct lie" had confirmed his belief that Russia would invade. As he left the meeting, he said Gen Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of general staff, told him "never again will we be humiliated".
Less than a fortnight later, as tanks rolled over the Ukraine border on February 24, 2022, Johnson received a phone call in the middle of the night from President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Zelensky's very, very calm. But, he tells me, you know, they're attacking everywhere," the former Prime Minister said, adding that he offered to help move the President to safety." He doesn't take me up on that offer. He heroically stayed where he was."
About the pre-invasion call, Johnson said President Putin had been "very familiar" during the "most extraordinary call".
