The threat is said to have been made in a phone call between the two leaders shortly before Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Boris Johnson and other Western leaders had then visited Kyiv to show their support for Ukraine in an attempt to ward off a Russian attack.
— He kind of threatened me at one point, saying “Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a robot it would only take a few minutes” or something like that, says Boris Johnson in the BBC documentary broadcast on Monday, which depicts the growing rift between the Russian leader and the West in the years before the invasion of Ukraine.
The documentary also shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyjs as he reflects on his thwarted ambition to join the NATO defense alliance before the Russian offensive began.
— If you know that Russia will occupy Ukraine tomorrow, why don’t you give me something today that I can stop it with, says Zelensky and continues:
— Or if you can’t give it to me – then stop it yourself.