According to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Russian President Vladimir Putin made personal threats against Britain shortly before the start of the Ukraine war.
"He kind of threatened me at one point and said, 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you, but with a rocket it would only take a minute' or something like that," Johnson told the BBC.
"Judging by the very relaxed tone and the level of composure he seemed to display, he must have been toying with my attempts to get him to negotiate," Johnson continued.
Like other Western leaders, the then prime minister had tried to steer Putin off course shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The statements are said to have been made, as Johnson said in a BBC documentary.
Shoigu as a proud liar
According to a preliminary report by the British broadcaster, Defense Minister Ben Wallace is also to be seen in it, who reports on a similar contact with Russian government officials.
A few days before the attack on Ukraine, Wallace was in Moscow to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
He assured him that Russia would not invade.
But it was clear to both of them that Shoigu wasn't serious.
"It was more of a show of bullying or strength - I'm lying even though you know I'm lying and I know you know it;
and yet I lie.”