The result of the Russian-Ukrainian war will be a defining moment for the beginning of the 21st century, since it is a war for democracy and the ideas of freedom.
This opinion was expressed by former British Prime Minister and great friend of Ukraine Boris Johnson, who repeatedly came to Ukraine on visits after the full-scale invasion of Russia.
In an interview with ICTV Facts special correspondent Natalya Lutsenko Johnson described in detail how he met February 24, 2022 and how difficult it was to convince Western allies to support Ukraine.
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— Do you remember how February 24th began for you?
— Yes, it started very early in the morning because I got a call from my national security adviser, and then very soon after that I spoke with Vladimir Zelensky, the president. He told me what was happening, and it was a complete nightmare. We expected it, we kind of knew it was coming. We heard that the order was given for the troops to advance, for the Russian front lines to advance, but it was still terrible when I heard the news from Vladimir Zelensky and I was very angry, but we said that we would do our best to support.
— So you never thought that Putin was bluffing when he attacked Ukraine?
— I came to Vladimir (Zelensky, — Ed.) shortly before… Yes, I remember that day, I was there. Yes, and I kept telling him: “what do you think?”, “is he (Putin) going to attack, —Ed.)?&# 8221;… It seems to me that he (Vladimir Zelensky, —Ed.) was in difficulty because it was very important not to give everyone in Ukraine the impression that war was coming, that they (the Russians, —Ed.) were going to invade. I think it would cause concern, it could cause economic consequences, there could be panic. Although I think people knew what we knew, which was that things were looking very bad.
So we were hoping that wouldn't happen, but the intelligence we had was very, very very bad. It looked like Putin had already made his decision.
— From your point of view, why is Ukraine so important for Great Britain, for your people?
— Ukraine is of great importance, and what happens will be the defining moment of the beginning of the 21st century, because this is a battle for the freedom of innocent people who have done nothing wrong. But this is also a battle for democracy, for the ideas of freedom, and if Putin wins, it will be a big victory for autocrats, anti-democrats, people who don’t care about human rights, people who shoot journalists. It will be bad, very bad, if Putin wins. But when Ukraine wins, it will be a signal to the whole world that democracies support each other and that we are in the West — UK, USA — we care and we will provide financial and military support.
— Was it difficult for you to convince other Western leaders to help Ukraine?
— I think that for some of my friends (we are talking about other Western leaders, —Ed.) it was a psychological difficulty because they didn't expect it to actually happen. And many did not believe that Putin was going to do this until the very end, until February 24.
As for me, there was some skepticism. Some doubts in other European capitals, but once they realized what was happening, they began to respond better and better. If you look at the fact that the French and I are very supportive of Ukraine, Germany sent tanks to Ukraine. You couldn't imagine this a couple of years ago, so things have really changed.
— At the beginning of the Russian invasion, many countries did not believe that we would succeed, especially in the first few months, and you also talked about this. Why didn’t you believe in Ukraine then?
— Well, I've been to Ukraine several times, a couple of times, and it seemed to me that Putin would be crazy if he decided to do something like that. Because I spoke with people in Kyiv, with veterans of the conflict in Donbass, and I understood that Ukraine would fight, this is a bad idea for Putin. I think that our intelligence… that people have a kind of superstition about Putin: they think he is tougher than he actually is. I think the world should forget about this now. People don't need to be afraid of this guy, Ukrainians aren't afraid of him, and they're right.
— I know that you have several books. Let's imagine that you are writing a book about the war in Ukraine. What will you include there?
— Well, someday I will do it, but not yet, I haven't gotten there yet. No, I didn't think about that. No, no, someday I'll try to write this, I'm trying to write something now, but I haven't completely figured it out yet.
— And returning to your quote regarding the victory of the Ukrainians. However, there are many fears and people who convince us that this will be a long war, and Ukrainian society is quite tired of hearing this all the time. What is your point of view on this?
— I don't know. It seems to me that Ukraine can win quite soon. I think that if there is a breakthrough and a land corridor is created… As for me, Ukraine is now advancing more, but I am not a military tactician. I think that the Ukrainians are fighting heroically, they are constantly regaining positions, and we will see what happens next. Russians are not fighting for a cause in which they believe. They fight because they are afraid of their superiors, or because they are prisoners, or something else. However, they do not fight out of conviction.
— What strategy should Ukraine build in relation to the West so as not to hear that they are tired of war?
— Just constantly remind everyone that freedom and democracy as such are at stake. Ukrainians are fighting not only for Ukraine, they are fighting for Georgia, for the Baltic countries, for Poland, for all the inhabitants of Eastern Europe who may be threatened by Putin’s project to restore the Soviet Union. The Ukrainians are fighting for everyone in East Asia who might be at risk if the Chinese want to attack Taiwan. When Ukraine wins, it will be a big defeat for the people who want to start a war everywhere.
And so Ukrainians must remind the world, and people like me who support Ukraine must remind the world, why is it so important, but above all it is important because it is about the freedom of an innocent country. This is a European country. Ukrainians have the right to live in freedom and peace.
— It is obvious that sanctions do not give the result that everyone wanted. How can the world influence Russia in other ways?
— I think take $300 billion of Russian state assets.
— Is this possible?
— I think yes. I've talked to some people about this topic. As for me, these are state assets, these are not private assets. The Americans did this in 1981 with Iran, in 1992 with Iraq. You can do it, and Putin has lost all moral right to this money. He caused so much destruction in Ukraine.
— Aren't you afraid that countries will simply take this money for themselves?
— No, because I think that would be a disaster. This is a valid question to ask, but it would set a bad precedent. As for me, what Putin did was something out of the ordinary. He invaded an independent sovereign country and caused the death of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people. He lost the right to this money.
