Johnson says Putin threatened him with missile strike before invading Ukraine

The BBC reports this, quoting Johnson's words in the documentary Putin Vs the West.

This was the Russian president's response to Johnson's warning that the war would be a “complete disaster.” The then-prime minister warned Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and an increase in the number of NATO troops on Russia's borders.

“He (Putin - ed.) threatened me at one point, and he said, 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that. Jolly. But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate,” Johnson said. 

The details of this conversation are revealed in the BBC documentary Putin Vs. the West, which focuses on the Russian president's interaction with world leaders.

The film will be broadcast on Monday, January 30, on BBC 2.