Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to target him with a missile during a phone call in February 2022.

Simultaneously, the Kremlin rebuffed Johnson’s claims as “not true, or more aptly a lie.” 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists, “once again I officially repeat: This is a lie, there were no threats with missiles.”

“President Putin noted that if Ukraine joins NATO, the potential deployment of NATO or American missiles on our borders will mean that any missile will reach Moscow in a matter of minutes. If this passage was perceived in this way, [it is] a very awkward situation,” he detailed.

The official went on to say that he is directly familiar with the details of Putin's chat with Johnson on February 2, 2022.

"I know what was discussed during this conversation and once again officially repeat — [the missile claims are] a lie. There were no threats of missile strikes. Speaking about the challenges to Russia's security, President Putin noted that if Ukraine joins NATO, the potential deployment of NATO or American missiles at our borders will mean that any missile will reach Moscow in a matter of minutes," Peskov said.
 
Boris Johnson was one of several Western leaders Putin met with as the long-running security crisis in the Donbass escalated in January and February 2022, culminating in Russia launching a military operation to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify" Ukraine amid concerns about Kiev's ambitions to crush the Donbass republics and join the Western bloc.

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