When he claimed that President Vladimir Putin had threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine, former British prime minister Boris Johnson was accused of lying by the Kremlin.
Johnson claimed that the Russian leader had warned that he could launch a missile on Downing Street to kill him “in a minute” while speaking to the BBC for a documentary.
At one point, Johnson claimed, “He threatened me and said, “Boris, I don’t want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute” or something similar.”
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, hit back today, telling reporters that Johnson had made up the accusations.
“Mr. Johnson made some false statements. More specifically, it is a lie; there were no missile threats, according to Peskov.
After visiting Kyiv in February of last year to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain would support his nation in the event of an invasion by Russia, Johnson claims Putin made his astounding threat.
Upon his return to Britain, Johnson claimed to have had “a very long, most extraordinary call” with Putin, who at the time was publicly denying any intention of invading Ukraine despite amassing tens of thousands of troops on its borders in Russia and Belarus.
In order to support the president’s demand for more Western tanks, he paid Zelensky another visit last week.
Johnson penned the following in a Daily Mail rallying cry: “What conceivable reasons can there be for delay? Why aren’t we providing the Ukrainians with all the assistance they require right now?
Putin’s threats to use his nuclear arsenal if the West increases its support for Kyiv were also dismissed by the former prime minister. He claimed that Putin would “become a global pariah and plunge Russia into such a state of cryogenic economic exclusion that the current sanctions would look mild.”
Days later, the announcement from Germany and the United States that they would send tanks to Ukraine infuriated the Kremlin.
Russian officials today issued a warning that their nation is “on the verge of a direct collision with the US and NATO,” escalating tensions even further.
They claimed that due to Washington’s attempts to hand Moscow a “strategic defeat” in the Ukraine, it is “very possible” that there won’t be a nuclear arms control agreement with the United States after 2026.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington’s decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks was a ‘extremely destructive step’ which ‘escalated’ the war in Ukraine.
Ryabkov claimed Washington’s apparent insistence to inflict ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia means that the future of the nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Moscow is in doubt.
He warned that the last remaining pillar of the treaty could therefore expire in 2026 without a replacement.
On the ground in Ukraine, Russian forces are continuing to pour bodies into the embattled Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, with fierce fighting reported in the towns of Bakhmut and Vuhledar as Putin tries desperately to smash through Kyiv’s defences.
Zelensky said Ukraine was facing a difficult situation in Donetsk and needed faster weapons supplies and new types of weaponry, just days after allies agreed to provide Kyiv with heavy battle tanks.
‘The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region – there are constant Russian attacks,’ Zelensky said in a video address late on Sunday.
‘Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine.’
Zelensky’s claims of attrition in Vuhledar were corroborated by Denis Pushilin, the administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk, who told Russia’s TASS news agency the battle for the town was underway and said his forces had gained a foothold.
Ukrainian military analyst and colonel, Mykola Salamakha, told Ukrainian Radio NV that Russian troops were mounting waves of attacks on Vuhledar, an important strategic location for both sides.
‘From this location we control practically the entire rail system used by the Russians for logistics… The town is on an upland and an extremely strong defensive hub has been created there,’ he said.
Elsewhere, three people were killed and six injured on Sunday by Russian missile strikes on Kherson that damaged a hospital and a school, the regional administration said.
Oleh Synehubov, the regional governor, reported that strikes also occurred in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and that one elderly woman was killed there.
Images from Kharkiv showed firefighters frantically putting out fires amidst the wreckage of destroyed buildings as more missiles struck today.
One 62-year-old man was reported dead and one 85-year-old woman injured in today’s strikes by Synehubov.
Kherson was taken over by Russian forces soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and they held the city until Ukrainian forces took it back in November.
Since it was freed, Russian positions across the Dnipro River have frequently shelled the city.
On Saturday, Russia charged the Ukrainian military with deliberately hitting a hospital in an area of eastern Ukraine that was under Russian control and killing 14.
The allegations received no response from Ukraine.
According to Russia, it began its “special military operation” in Ukraine to ward off a belligerent West and “denazify” the nation. The invasion, according to Ukraine and its allies, was an unprovoked act of aggression.
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