Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile attack before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The BBC writes about it.
Johnson warned Putin by phone that an invasion of Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and an increase in the number of NATO troops on Russiaʼs borders. The former British prime minister also said that Ukraine will not join NATO "in the foreseeable future." In response, he received threats.
"One time he threatened me and said, ʼBoris, I donʼt want to hurt you, but with a rocket itʼs only going to take a minute,ʼ or something like that," Johnson noted.
"But I believe that judging by his very calm tone, detachment, he [Putin] simply played along with my attempts to force him to negotiate," added the ex-prime minister.
Nine days later, on February 11, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace flew to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu. In Russia, Wallace was assured that the Russian Federation would not invade Ukraine. According to the British minister, "a rather terrible but straight lie" confirmed his opinion that Russia would invade after all.
When Russian tanks crossed the Ukrainian border on February 24, 2022, President Zelensky called Johnson.
"Zelensky [was] very, very calm," Johnson recalled. ʼBut,ʼ he told me, ʼyou know they attack everywhereʼ."
Johnson offered to help transport the president of Ukraine to a safe place, but he refused.