Russia slams Boris Johnson over UK troops in Ukraine claim
Boris Johnson continues to stir tensions with Moscow more than two years after leaving office, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said, after the former UK prime minister suggested deploying troops to assist Ukraine.
In an interview with GB News on Tuesday, Johnson raised the possibility of US President-elect Donald Trump cutting support for Kiev in its conflict with Moscow, saying there are some people with “wrong” views on the issue in his inner circle. If this happens, “we will then have to pay to send British troops to help defend Ukraine,” he argued.
"Having ceded power, Johnson continues to provoke and incite” as it is the only type of behavior he is capable of, Zakharov told the Izvestia newspaper on Tuesday.
The 60-year-old Conservative resigned as UK prime minister in September 2022 after several high-profile scandals and a wave of resignations from his cabinet. However, he has remained a vocal supporter of Kiev and made several visits to Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted that Johnson was one of the leading voices in the West’s sanctions war against Russia, and that he personally traveled to Ukraine to “talk the Kiev regime out of negotiating” with Russia.
Johnson made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital in early April 2022 when Moscow and Kiev were engaged in talks in Istanbul, and according to Russian officials, were making significant progress. Shortly afterwards, the Ukrainians withdrew from the talks. Kiev’s top negotiator, lawmaker David Arakhamia, later confirmed media reports that Ukraine did so after Johnson urged it to “just fight” Russia. The British politician has denied any role in derailing the peace process, calling such claims “complete tripe.”
“Britain has been involved in anti-Russian activities for several years now: complicity in terrorist attacks, providing the Kiev regime with data to guide strikes, sending intelligence officers to coordinate military and terrorist actions against Russia, supplying weapons, and financing terrorism,” Zakharova claimed.
When France considered deploying troops to Ukraine in spring, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Moscow would treat servicemen from NATO countries as “interventionists” and respond accordingly. The deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, Pyotr Tolstoy, put it more bluntly, saying: “We will kill all French soldiers who set foot on Ukrainian soil. Every single one that comes.”
