Boris Johnson claims Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him with missile in call ahead of Russian invasion of Ukraine

Published

2 years ago

January 30, 2023

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Boris Johnson has claimed Vladimir Putin threatened to kill him with a missile in a call ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The former prime minister has alleged the Russian leader told him “I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute” in an “extraordinary” conversation which took place in February after he had visited Kyiv.

Mr Johnson, who would become a key backer of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration in the months after Russia invaded, made the claim as part of a new BBC Two series looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the years before the war.

The former PM recalled that on the visit to Kyiv he warned Mr Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would be disastrous and there would be tougher Western sanctions on Russia if he did so.

Mr Johnson also said he told the Russian leader that the escalation would only see Western states increase support for Ukraine, meaning “more NATO, not less NATO” on Russia’s borders.

“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 perfectively well’,” Mr Johnson said of the call with Mr Putin.

“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.

“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.”

Earlier this month, Mr Johnson made a surprise visit to Ukraine amid renewed scrutiny over his personal finances.

The former prime minister said it was a “privilege” to be invited to the war-torn nation by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with whom he had a close working relationship during his time in office.

Downing Street indicated Rishi Sunak was “supportive” of the visit, after claims it could undermine his authority on foreign policy.

Mr Johnson was pictured visiting Borodianka near Kyiv – a town heavily damaged by the Russian invasion.

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In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “The suffering of the people of Ukraine has gone on for too long.

“The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win – and to win as fast as possible. This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job.”

A spokesperson for Mr Johnson added that he fully supports UK government policy on Ukraine, including the recent decision to send Challenger 2 tanks.

The ex-prime minister pitched himself as a key ally of Kyiv during his time in Number 10, providing support and calling on Western allies to follow suit in the early days of Russia’s invasion last February.

As his scandal-plagued premiership unravelled, Mr Johnson was accused of using trips to Ukraine or phone calls with Mr Zelenskyy as a distraction for crises at home.

This trip came amid allegations BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped the former prime minister arrange a guarantee for a loan – and that Mr Johnson later recommended Mr Sharp for the role of BBC chair.

Mr Johnson’s spokesperson has denied the report as “rubbish”.

Senior Tories raised concerns about the trip, with Commons defence select committee chair Tobias Ellwood telling the newspaper that Mr Johnson should “not interfere with the messaging or the official lines of communication” between London and Kyiv.

World

Two bridges collapse in Russia – as seven people killed and dozens injured

Published

1 hour ago

June 1, 2025

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Two bridges collapse in Russia - as seven people killed and dozens injured

Seven people have been killed and dozens are injured after two bridges collapsed in Russia overnight.

A train derailed after a bridge collapsed on to it in the Bryansk region, killing the driver and six others.

Some 69 people were injured in the crash, with the train travelling from Moscow to Klimov at the time.

Earlier, local authorities blamed “illegal interference” for the incident.

Later, a bridge collapsed in Russia’s Kursk region while a freight train was passing over it.

Local officials said one of the train’s drivers was injured in the crash.

Russia’s Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law
enforcement, reported, without providing evidence, that the bridge in Bryansk was blown up, according to initial information.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Since the start of the war that Russia launched more than three years ago, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes, and covert raids by Ukrainian forces into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.

Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said: “Everything is being done to provide all necessary assistance to the victims.”

Emergency workers are at the scene of the train derailment, attempting to pull survivors from the wreckage.

Russia’s federal road transportation agency said the destroyed bridge passed above the railway tracks where the train was travelling.

Images from the scene show passenger cars ripped apart and lying amid fallen concrete from the collapsed bridge.

Other footage on social media appeared to be taken from inside vehicles which narrowly avoided driving onto the bridge before it collapsed.

World

At least 21 killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid, Red Cross hospital says

Published

2 hours ago

June 1, 2025

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At least 21 killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid, Red Cross hospital says

At least 21 people have been killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation, according to a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross.

The hospital, which received the bodies, said another 175 people had been wounded in the incident in Rafah on Sunday morning.

The Associated Press also reports seeing dozens of people being treated at the hospital.

Witnesses have said those killed and injured were struck by gunfire which broke out at a roundabout near the distribution site.

The area is controlled by Israeli forces.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.

“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 meters (yards) away from the military.”

Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.

The Gazans had been trying to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – an American organisation backed by both the US and Israeli governments.

It operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US claims is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.

Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.

Earlier, Hamas-linked media had also reported more than 20 deaths in Rafah, saying they were as a result of an Israeli strike on an aid distribution point. Israel is yet to comment.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.

Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots.

The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.

In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.

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World

Israel confirms Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was killed – as group makes counter-offer on ceasefire

Published

7 hours ago

June 1, 2025

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Israel confirms Hamas chief Mohammad Sinwar was killed - as group makes counter-offer on ceasefire

Israel has confirmed its forces have killed Hamas’s Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called the group’s counter-offer on a ceasefire “totally unacceptable”.

Mohammad Sinwar became the leader of the militant group in the Gaza Strip after his older brother Yahya Sinwar was killed last October.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had killed Sinwar on 13 May, and was the target of a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza.

Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Wednesday that he had been “eliminated”.

Who was ‘The Shadow’ Mohammed Sinwar?

Mohammed Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahyah Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas and mastermind behind the 7 October attacks, who was killed by IDF forces in Rafah last October.

In January of this year, Mohammed was confirmed as the new leader of Hamas in Gaza, following the death of his brother.

Among Palestinians, he never had the reputation of Yahya, but he was widely believed to have played a significant role in the kidnap and holding of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 and demanded the release of Yahya Sinwar from Israeli prison as part of a swap deal.

Born in Khan Younis, Mohammed Sinwar rose through the ranks of Hamas to become a senior commander in Al Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing.

He was known as ‘The Shadow’, in part because of the junior role he played to his older brother and also because few images of him exist.

He survived multiple assassination attempts and was previously incorrectly declared dead during Israel’s war in Gaza.

Sinwar had a reputation for being stubborn, and Israeli sources in the ceasefire negotiations blamed him for slowing the process and changing his demands at the last minute.

The IDF has confirmed he was with the commander of the Rafah brigade, Mohammed Shabanah, in tunnels underneath the European Hospital in Gaza when the IDF struck in mid-May. Shabanah’s death is significant because he was a likely successor to Sinwar.

It would leave Azadi al-Hadad, the Gaza City Brigade Commander, as the only living Hamas commander from 7 October.

He would likely be in line as the next Hamas chief in Gaza.

Hamas seeks changes in US ceasefire proposal

It comes as Hamas said it was seeking amendments to a US-proposed ceasefire deal, offering 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, which would see the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died over the course of a week.

Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down.

In a statement about the proposal on Saturday, Hamas said its response “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip”.

Hamas offer ‘totally unacceptable’ – Witkoff

Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Mr Witkoff, said on social media that Hamas’s response is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards”.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he added.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that the group has not rejected the proposal but added Mr Witkoff’s response was “unfair” and showed “complete bias” towards Israel.

Israel has not yet responded to Hamas’ counter-offer, but has previously rejected the conditions and demanded the complete disarmament and dismantling of the group.

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Meanwhile, Gaza aid groups have said dozens of World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people.

The WFP added: “After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by.”

Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation”.

Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries via the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Instead, it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies.