Former prime minister Boris Johnson was visiting Ukraine and the Black Sea port of Odesa ahead of the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.
Vladimir Putin’s state television has lashed out at the Russian military for failing to target Odesa whilst Boris Johnson was visiting the Ukrainian port city. The former Prime Minister was spotted in the coastal city over the weekend, before heading to Kyiv.
Putin’s chief TV mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov questioned: “Excuse me, please, but why didn’t we strike Odesa when [Boris] Johnson [was] hanging out there? I really can’t understand it….” Retired Russian general Evgeny Buzhinsky echoed the sentiment: “I also can’t understand why. When will this political tourism stop….?”.
Johnson had travelled to the Black Sea port alongside Lord Ashcroft on a morale-boosting mission before attending the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv.
The former PM is viewed as a foe by the Kremlin, which blames him for encouraging Volodymyr Zelensky to resist Putin in the early stages of the conflict.
Johnson has denounced Donald Trump’s ‘nauseating’ red-carpet treatment of Putin in Alaska last month, and urged that £260 billion of frozen Russian assets in the West should be transferred to Ukraine.
Solovyov suggested that another conference participant – Finland’s Trump-whispering president Alexander Stubb – should also have been in Russian crosshairs. Solovyov argued that Russia should openly warn Western politicians that their safety cannot be guaranteed when visiting Ukraine.
He insisted: “Why not officially announce that we do not guarantee the presence of these people on Ukrainian territory?”. They can come at their own risk, but we guarantee their insecurity in Ukraine.”
Hardliner Buzhinsky responded: “Well, you can declare it, or you can simply more actively destroy the railway [they use to travel on].”
The menacing remarks directed at Johnson were broadcast on state-funded television channel Rossiya 1.
For the unaware, Buzhinsky is a former Lieutenant-General in the Russian Armed Forces and spent many years in roles related to international cooperation and arms control.
Since retiring, he has become a prominent voice on military and political issues. He’s often seen as a senior figure at the PIR Center, a Moscow-based think tank, and regularly appears in the media to share his perspective on topics like NATO, non-proliferation, and Russia’s foreign policy. Essentially, he’s a go-to expert for understanding Russia’s military and strategic thinking.
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