President Vladimir Putin threatened to individually goal Boris Johnson with a missile assault simply earlier than ordering Russian forces into Ukraine, the previous UK top minister has claimed.
The obvious hazard got here in a telecellsmartphone name simply beforehand of the invasion on February 24, in keeping with a brand new BBC documentary to be broadcast on Monday.
Johnson and different Western leaders have been hurrying to Kyiv to reveal guide for Ukraine and attempt to deter a Russian assault.
“He form of threatened me at one factor and said, ‘Boris, I do not need to harm you, however with a missile, it’d best take a minute’, or some thing like that,” Johnson quoted Putin as saying.
Johnson emerged as one of the maximum impassioned Western backers of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But previous to the invasion, he says he turned into at pains to inform Putin that there has been no approaching prospect of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, whilst caution him that any invasion could mean “greater NATO, now no longer much less NATO” on Russia’s borders.
“He said, ‘Boris, you assert that Ukraine isn’t always going to sign up for NATO any time soon.
“‘What is any time soon?’ And I said, ‘nicely it is now no longer going to sign up for NATO for the foreseeable future. You realize that completely nicely’.”
On the missile hazard, Johnson added: “I assume from the very comfortable tone that he turned into taking, the form of air of detachment that he appeared to have, he turned into simply gambling in conjunction with my tries to get him to negotiate.”
The BBC documentary charts the developing divide among the Russian chief and the West withinside the years earlier than the invasion of Ukraine.
It additionally capabilities Zelensky reflecting on his thwarted targets to sign up for NATO previous to Russia’s assault.
“If you recognize that day after today Russia will occupy Ukraine, why do not you deliver me some thing these days I can prevent it with?” he says.
“Or in case you can not deliver it to me, then prevent it yourself.”