Russia accuses Boris Johnson of lying after he claimed Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him in missile strike

Russia has accused Boris Johnson of lying after the former UK prime minister claimed Vladimir Putin threatened to assassinate him in a missile strike.

Russia has accused Boris Johnson of lying after the former UK prime minister claimed Vladimir Putin threatened to assassinate him in a missile strike.

Mr Johnson told the BBC as part of a documentary on the outbreak of the war in Ukraine that the Russian president said it would “only take a minute” to take him out.

“He sort of threatened me at one point and said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute,’ or something like that,” Mr Johnson said of their conversation in the days before Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hit back on Monday night, accusing Mr Johnson of being a liar.

Boris Johnson visits Kyiv's Independence Square (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV / AFP)

“What Mr. Johnson said is not true, more precisely, it is a lie,” Peskov said.

“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?

“I know what was discussed during this conversation, and once again I officially repeat: this is a lie. There were no threats of missile strike.”

Peskov claimed Putin was talking about how quickly Russia would react if Ukraine joined Nato.

“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,” Peskov said.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recounted the events leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, revealing details from a testy exchange with Vladimir Putin

Mr Johnson was recounting the events leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for a BBC documentary when he revealed details from the testy exchange with Putin.

Prior to the invasion, Mr Johnson travelled to Kyiv to offer support to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Despite the growing concern over a build-up of Russian troops near the border, Russia continued to deny any intention of advancing into Ukrainian territory.

Three weeks after Mr Johnson‘s visit to Kyiv, on February 24, Russia launched its invasion.

Mr Johnson said that he had informed Putin that if Russia were to invade Ukraine, the West would respond with tougher sanctions and an increase in support for Kyiv, including the potential for “more NATO, not less” on Russian borders.

“He sort of threatened me at one point and said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute,’ or something like that,” Mr Johnson told the BBC.

“From the 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.”

When Putin asked for clarification on the West’s stance on Ukraine’s potential membership of NATO, Mr Johnson responded that for the foreseeable future, Ukraine was not expected to join the alliance.

The Kremlin has accused Mr Johnson of lying about his conversation with Putin (Photo by Handout / KREMLIN.RU / AFP)

The documentary also highlights the UK’s role in attempting to turn Putin away from the eventual invasion to avoid what could mount into something far worse.

“If you know that tomorrow Russia will occupy Ukraine, why don’t you give me something today I can stop it with?” Mr Johnson recounted.

“Or if you can’t give it to me, then stop it yourself.”

The documentary also shows Mr Zelensky reflecting on his thwarted ambitions to join NATO prior to Russia’s attack.

In the months following Russia’s invasion, Mr Johnson and several other UK politicians were placed on Moscow’s “stop list”, barring them entering the country. Russia’s retaliation came after the UK placed widespread sanctions on Russian trade and pledged further support to Ukraine’s government.

The UK’s support for Ukraine has been labelled as ‘hostile’ by Russian officials, while the press continues to bark threats at the West.

Kremlin mouthpieces have previously singled out the UK — alongside the US — as being the main agitators against Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Moscow officials described the UK as “hostile”, while Putin’s propagandists in the press bayed for blood.

“In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian ‘stop list’,” Moscow said in a statement.

“In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and co-ordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO.”

British training has also been pivotal in Ukraine’s war with Russia.

In the days before the invasion, Ukrainian soldiers from across the country turned up in droves to receive UK training on NLAWs [next generation light antitank weapons].

The UK has so far given more than 5000 NLAWs to Ukraine forces and shipping over 6000 more. They have proved invaluable in slowing the Russian advance, British forces have said.