Ex-UK Prime Minister Claims Putin Once Threatened Him With Missile Strike, Spokesman Responds

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been known to hold to his word although it remains to be seen if the same holds when leaders of nations talk over the phone.

In the case of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Putin at one point allegedly threatened him with a missile strike as the two were talking in the run-up to the eventual Ukraine invasion.

The 58-year-old leader added that this came after he commented that Putin’s plans would be an utter catastrophe.

This claim comes from a BBC documentary on Putin’s interactions with world leaders over the years. However, a Kremlin spokesperson claims that all of that was a lie.

Johnson allegedly warned Putin that his plans of invading Ukraine would lead to dire consequences such as Western sanctions and more Nato troops along Russian borders.

"He 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 stated. "But 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."

However, no exchange appeared in the accounts released to the media of the call by Downing Street. All official calls were arranged with detailed minutes taken by a Number 10 official and retained for the archive. It is reportedly impossible to authenticate if Putin’s threats were real.

According to Dmitry Peskov, his claims of Johnson were either false or a lie. He adds that the former leader may have not understood what Putin was saying to him.

"There were no threats to use missiles," Peskov said during a conference call as reported by the Associated Press.

However, fresh in the mind of most is the fact that Putin had warned countries about the consequences should they interfere. That includes hinting at using nuclear weapons.