The former British Prime Minister spoke to an Estonian journalist in an interview with Eesti Ekspress on January 9. The news site has now shared an excerpt adding Mr Johnson’s strong assessment.
Asked about Putin’s illegal attack on Ukraine and the threats made in recent years against the Baltic states through the Kremlin and Russian propagandists, Johnson said: “What Putin is doing is archaic and barbaric, and he has to do it with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, none of those countries are already part of the Russian empire, nor is Ukraine.
“It’s over, over, over, over, no more empire Vladimir, you f***ing idiot, excuse my language.”
Johnson was the first Western leader to stop in Ukraine after Russia’s illegal invasion in February 2022. During his stop, he introduced his country and Britain to the country and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Johnson drew parallels with the end of the British Empire and how a country will have to come to terms with those changing times.
Speaking about his conversations with Mr Putin in the run-up to the war in Ukraine, Mr Johnson revealed in a separate interview that at one point the Russian despot threatened Britain with a “missile strike”. The Kremlin has since denied the allegation.
Speaking in a BBC documentary, Mr Johnson claimed that during a phone call with Putin, the Russian president “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. Jolly”.
Johnson added: “But I think, judging by the very relaxed tone he adopted, the kind of air of detachment he seemed to have, it just played along with my attempts to get him to negotiate Array. “
At the time, the British government and NATO were fervently seeking to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it is clear that the Kremlin had other ideas, and a spokesman appeared to launch a sneak attack on Johnson, implying that he was “completely confused. ” “.
On February 3, 2022, the Kremlin stated: “Russia and President Putin are open to communication with everyone. Even to anyone who is absolutely confused, he is ready to give exhaustive explanations. “
Just 21 days later, Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
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The former conservative leader has something of a hero for the Ukrainian people and the former prime minister has a close relationship with President Zelenksy.
A city street near Odessa in southern Ukraine was renamed Mayakovsky Street to Boris Johnson Street in his honour, just weeks after the Russian invasion.
A council spokesperson said at the time: “The prime minister of the United Kingdom is one of the most principled opponents of the Russian invasion, a leader in sanctions on Russia and defence support for Ukraine.”
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