Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims that in France, until recently, they did not believe that Putin would proceed with a large-scale invasion, and in Berlin, at a certain stage, they considered it best if quickly Ukraine fell.
Boris Johnson, better known in Ukraine as Boris Johnsonyuk, after his removal from the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain, is already talking about how the first days of Russia’s war against Ukraine were known in the capitals of the West . And not everyone liked these revelations.
different moods
According to Johnson, the mood in European capitals before February 24 was very different, and at that time there was no such unity and clear support for Ukraine, which appeared later.
“It’s all a big shock… We see that the Russian BTGs are piling up, but different countries have different views on the prospects. At a certain stage, the German position if it happened, it would be a disaster, but then it would be better that everything ends quickly and Ukraine collapses,” said Johnson, adding that Berlin was motivated by a number of good economic reasons .
“I couldn’t support this point of view, I thought it was a disastrous approach. But I can understand why they reasoned the way they reasoned,” he added.
According to Boris Johnson, France also couldn’t believe until the last moment that Putin would really launch a full-scale invasion.
CNN recalls that earlier sources reported that the resignation in March of the head of French military intelligence, Eric Vidot, was partly due to the fact that they could not foresee such a scenario.
Johnson also criticized Rome’s initial approach to the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine. According to him, for some time in the government of Mario Draghi they said that they could not support the position of London that it was necessary to react harshly – because of the heavy dependence on Russian energy carriers.
The war changed everything
However, after February 24, Johnson said, sentiment quickly changed. “The Germans, the French, the Italians, Joe Biden – everyone saw that there were no options. Because you can’t negotiate with this guy (Putin). This is an important moment,” Johnson said, adding that after the EU’s reaction to Russia’s aggression was “smart”.
“Now I appreciate the way the European Union reacted. They acted together, the sanctions were tough,” Johnson said.
He also praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his leadership and suggested that events could have taken a different course without him in this post.
The Germans disagree
Germany angrily dismissed Johnson’s claims that on the eve of the Russian invasion, Berlin considered it best for Ukraine to lay down its arms.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denied these claims, diplomatically criticizing Johnson.
“We know that a very interesting former prime minister always has a strange relationship with the truth, and this case is no exception,” he said.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.