Kremlin accuses Boris Johnson of LYING about Putin threatening to kill him: Russia responds after former PM claimed Vladimir said 'I don't want to hurt you, but with a missile it would only take a minute'

• e-mail

The Kremlin has accused former British prime minister Boris Johnson of lying when he said President Vladimir Putin had threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader had warned he could launch a missile on Downing St. to kill him 'in a minute'.

'He threatened me at one point, and he said, ''Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute'' or something like that,' Johnson said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today bit back, telling reporters that Johnson had fabricated the allegations.

'What Mr. Johnson said is not true. More precisely it's a lie... There were no missile threats,' Peskov declared.

Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader (pictured today) had threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call prior to the invasion of Ukraine

'He threatened me at one point, and he said, ''Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute'' or something like that,' Johnson said

Russian test launch of a Sarmat nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is pictured)

Johnson claims Putin's astonishing threat was made in February last year after the former prime minister visited Kyiv to assure Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain would back his country if Russia were to invade. 

Johnson said that he had 'a very long, most extraordinary call' with Putin upon his return to Britain, at a time when the Russian president was publicly denying that he planned to invade Ukraine, despite having massed tens of thousands of troops on its borders in Russia and Belarus.

READ MORE: Vladimir Putin is set on 'big war' with Nato to bring back the Iron Curtain says top Russian political scientist

A high-ranking Ukrainian official said it is 'no secret' that Russia are preparing for a new wave by February 24 - the first anniversary of their invasion

Advertisement

The former prime minister said he told the Russian despot that war would be an 'utter catastrophe' and trigger unprecedented Western sanctions. 

He downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, given the opposition from members such as France and Germany, but warned that war could galvanise support behind Kyiv and would result in 'more NATO, not less NATO' on Russia's borders.

Johnson said: 'He said, ''Boris, you say that Ukraine is not going to join Nato any time soon... what is any time soon?'' And I said, ''Well, it's not going to join Nato for the foreseeable future. You know that perfectly well''.

'He sort of threatened me at one point and said, ''Boris, I don't want to hurt you, but with a missile it would take only a minute''.

'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.'

The revelation comes in a BBC documentary series called 'Putin v the West', which is due to be broadcast tonight.

Johnson played a leading role in drumming up Western support for Ukraine last year.

Peskov meanwhile strongly rejected Johnson's claims, arguing that it was either a conscious ploy, or a simple mistake committed due to miscommunication.

'What Mr. Johnson said is not true, more precisely, it is a lie. And moreover, I will say that this is either a conscious lie - in which case the question is, why did he choose to present it this way? Or was it an unconscious lie, and, in fact, he did not understand what President Putin was talking to him about?' Peskov reasoned.

'I know what was discussed during this conversation, and once again I officially repeat: this is a lie. There were no threats of missile strikes,' he added.

'Speaking about the challenges for Russia's security, President Putin noted that if Ukraine joins NATO, the potential deployment of American missiles at our borders will mean that any missile will reach Moscow in a matter of minutes.'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (left with Putin) today claimed Boris Johnson was lying about the threat

Zelensky is seen shaking hands with the former prime minister as he visited again on January 22 amid Russia's attack on Ukraine

Boris claimed Putin made the accusation on a phone call just prior to the invasion of Ukraine 

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today Washington's decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks (pictured) was an 'extremely destructive step' which 'escalated' the war in Ukraine

Paramedics carry an injured Ukrainian serviceman who stepped on an anti-personnel land mine at a stabilisation point for emergency treatment before sending him to a hospital near the frontline in the Donetsk region on January 29, 2023

Johnson has continued to be a thorn in Putin's side since leaving office, conducting a series of high-profile interventions designed to prevent Western leaders from backsliding. 

Russian company offers £58,000 cash reward to first troops who destroy or capture Western tanks. READ MORE here

 

Advertisement

Last week he visited Zelensky in Ukraine again to help bolster support for the president's demand for more Western tanks.

In a rallying cry in the Daily Mail, Johnson wrote: 'What conceivable grounds can there be for delay? Why are we not giving the Ukrainians all the help they need, now, when they need it?'

The former PM also dismissed Putin's threats to deploy his nuclear arsenal if the West steps up support for Kyiv, saying he would 'become a global pariah and plunge Russia into such a state of cryogenic economic exclusion as to make the current sanctions look moderate'.

Within days, Germany and the United States announced that they would supply tanks to Ukraine, sparking fury in the Kremlin.

In a further escalation of tensions, Russian officials today warned their country is on the 'verge of a direct collision with the US and NATO'.

They said it is 'very possible' there will be no nuclear arms control treaty with America after 2026 due to Washington's efforts to inflict 'strategic defeat' on Moscow in Ukraine. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington's decision to supply Kyiv with 31 of its fast-moving M1 Abrams tanks was an '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.

Soldiers of the 59th Motorised Brigade of the Ukrainian army on the frontline, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 28, 2023

A view of the 'Grad' artillery battery as it fires, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 29, 2023

Putin has made himself a 'laughing stock' after surrounding himself with 'absolutely incompetent' military chiefs ahead of 'senseless' invasion of Ukraine, says Russia's former vice-president - Click HERE to read more 

 

Advertisement

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. 

Strikes were also reported in Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, in which one elderly woman was killed according to regional governor Oleh Synehubov. 

More missiles hit today and images from Kharkiv showed firefighters desperately trying to extinguish flames amid the rubble of demolished buildings.

Synehubov reported that one 62-year-old man had been killed in today's strikes, while one 85-year-old woman received injuries. 

A woman carries her child as they evacuate from a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket at the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

Ukrainian emergency workers clear the rubble on the roof of a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket at the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

Ukrainian rescuers clear the debris of a residential building, partially destroyed after a missile strike on Kharkiv on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

A children's swing is seen outside a residential building, partially destroyed after a missile strike in Kharkiv on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The debris of a residential building, partially destroyed after a missile strike on Kharkiv on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a house following Russian shelling in the city of Kherson, on January 29, 2023

A view shows a damaged regional hospital following a shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine, January 29, 2023

A view of the smoke above the battlefield on the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut, Ukraine on January 26, 2023

Russian troops had occupied Kherson shortly after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and held the city until Ukrainian forces recaptured it in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Russia on Saturday accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately striking a hospital in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine, killing 14 people. 

There was no response to the allegations from Ukraine.

Russia says it launched its 'special military operation' in Ukraine to fend off a hostile West and 'denazify' the country. Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked act of aggression.