Firing a missile against him would just take a minute

President Vladimir Putin allegedly informed the British leader that it would be simple to kill him with a missile in the days leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This, according to former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Kremlin refuted any threat Putin may have made.

According to a documentary that was released on Monday, Johnson called Putin in February 2022 and attempted to talk him out of going to war by assuring him that Ukraine would not be joining NATO any time soon, which had long been a concern for the Russian president, and by warning that an invasion would result in “massive” Western sanctions.

Johnson claims in the BBC documentary “Putin vs. the West” that “from the very comfortable tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was simply playing along with my attempts to persuade him to negotiate.”

Putin “threatened me at one point and said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would just take a minute,” or something along those lines,” according to Johnson.

The three-part documentary series, which was created by seasoned filmmaker Norma Percy, describes how Western leaders interacted with the president of Russia in the years before the invasion on February 24, 2022.

It was a reminder that he could do it, and Johnson should keep that in mind when dealing with him, Percy said on Monday. She did not believe Putin was directly threatening anyone.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, denied Johnson’s claims when asked about them, calling them “lies.” Peskov claimed that Johnson may have lied on purpose or not understood what Putin was saying.

On a conference call with reporters, Peskov stated, “There were no missile threats. “While discussing the security threats to Russia, President Putin stated that if Ukraine joins NATO, it is possible that American or other NATO missiles might be stationed close to our borders, making it possible for any such missile to quickly reach Moscow.

Up until he was ousted from power in the middle of 2022 due to ethical problems, Johnson was one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s most notable foreign friends. UK continues to be a significant provider of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.