Mr Johnson warned that Putin’s ultimate goal was to ‘get Kyiv’ and take control of the whole country
Rozina Sabur, DEPUTY US EDITOR
12 April 2024
Vladimir Putin’s seizure of Kyiv would be a “catastrophe” bigger than Vietnam for American leadership on the world stage, Boris Johnson has warned.
The former British Prime Minister said he was “praying” Republicans in Congress would end the blockade of around $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, saying: “the situation is grim and the delay is terrible”.
Mr Johnson went on to warn that the Russian president’s ultimate goal was to “get Kyiv”. “He wants to take control of the whole country,” he said.
He continued: “If that happens, I think it would be an absolute catastrophe for the West, and a catastrophe for America and for any concept of American leadership.”
“I think it would be a reverse bigger than Vietnam,” he said, “because this would be Nato, after 75 years of success, that had failed for the first time in a European war”.
He added that the West’s chaotic 2021 “retreat from Afghanistan will be nothing compared to Russia winning in Ukraine. Nothing.”
Mr Johnson went on to express optimism that Donald Trump would abandon his isolationist rhetoric over Russia’s war in Ukraine should he regain the White House in November’s election.
“I really can’t believe that any American president or incoming American president is going to want that to happen on his watch,” Mr Johnson said.
Mr Trump, 77, has previously said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any Nato member that doesn’t meet its defence spending commitments.
But Mr Johnson said: “When you look at the substance of what Trump did in the White House on foreign policy, you can make a case for quite a lot of it”.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Johnson stressed that his suspicion was that Mr Trump would not abandon Ukraine to Russia.
Mr Johnson also refused to rule out a return to frontline politics amid growing speculation that he could stand as an MP again.
He told an audience at Georgetown University in Washington that he could re-enter politics if he felt he had “something to contribute”.
Asked if he would stand again as an MP, he said: “I think it’s unlikely in the short term. I think the only circumstances in which anybody should stand for election is if they have something to contribute.”
Mr Johnson resigned as MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip last year, nearly a year after standing down as Prime Minister, ahead of a publication of a report into parties at Downing Street under his tenure.
He has described the report as a “kangaroo court”.
Mr Johnson, 59, was speaking to an audience at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
He was introduced, in accordance with American custom, by the moderator as “Prime Minister Boris Johnson”.
“I love the way you call me Prime Minister. It’s a courtesy that doesn’t exist in the United Kingdom,” he said, joking “it might come in handy”.
During the more than hour-long “fireside chat”, Mr Johnson argued that there was no feasible peace deal the Ukrainians could strike to end the fighting.
He said: “There’s no deal they can see they can do with Putin. I mean, nobody comes up to me furtively and says, ‘oh, but you know, by the way, we could trade this and this and let’s cut a deal’. Nobody suggests that.”
However, Mr Johnson argued there are ways through for Putin to “end this thing” and still be able to “claim some sort of moral victory”.
A foul, scummy troll calling himself “Free French” commented:
“The photo captioned “A Ukrainian serviceman from Azov brigade on the front line in the Donetsk region “.
Perhaps the DT would like to mention to its readers that the Azov Brigade is an avowedly, unashamedly, blatantly neo nazi outfit, that shares all the guastly and despicable nazi ideologes??
Very good reply from Nicholas Hilliard
Reply to Free French:
You are confusing the current Azov brigade (consisting of mainly Russia speaking Ukrainians from the east of Ukraine) with the entire Russia army.
David R Crawford
Reply to Free French:
And your point is?
Perhaps you would like to mention that the soldier in question is part of the Ukrainian fighting forces trying to defend Ukraine from a Nazi-like sociopath called Putin who has illegally invaded and annexed said Donetsk region as part of a blatant Imperial land grab. Said Putin is now pillaging, plundering and looting the region for the personal gain of himself and some oligarch pals.
Nicholas Hilliard
Reality is that Russia walking away with anything in Ukraine will be spun as NATO the US being defeated by Russia. That’s the bottom line. If Trump came in and pushed Ukraine to give up land, that is what it will be seen as, as Russia defeating the collective west. China, Iran, North Korea etc will see it as a green light for their own agendas.
Unless the west inflicts a defeat on Russia in Ukraine, ensuring that at a minimum the situation returns to the position as at the beginning of 2022 there will be more to come.
Finian Manson
Ukrainians and Russians are unnecessarily losing their lives because Trump’s followers in the Senate, Putin’s poodles and useful fools, are blocking the release of funds to restock arms, ammunition and equipment and all other matériel in Ukraine.
As a result, a war that if should have finished two years ago with Russia being expelled from all the territory it illegally seized over the last decade or more and reparations paid to Ukraine.
The irony is of course that Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty with guaranteed by the USA, the UK and Russia! So, even if Ukraine was forced to concede and sign a new treaty of some kind by the USA with Russia it will be a meaningless piece of paper as far as Russia is concerned.
Instead, Russia has been emboldened as has others on the axis of evil. What is clear over is that America is no longer reliable ally whoever is in charge.
“Instead, Russia has been emboldened as has others on the axis of evil. What is clear over is that America is no longer reliable ally whoever is in charge.”
This is something that the orange bastard and his maga gangsters don’t understand due to their limited intellect, and their nonexistent morals take any deaths for granted if it helps to promote their filthy politics. Indeed, they have single-handedly made America an unreliable rabble.