Johnson: Germany wanted to surrender to Ukraine in the event of an attack by Russia

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said what representatives of Germany, France and Italy said about the possibility of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. American intelligence warned about preparing for the war since the fall, but until the last moment many world politicians did not believe that it would happen or would be long.

Prior to the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany believed that “if it happens, it will be a disaster, so it will be better if it ends quickly and Ukraine will surrender,” Johnson said, explaining this approach to “all kinds of good economic reasons”.

France, according to Johnson, "until the last moment denied" the possibility of Russia's attack. And the Italian government, which at that time was headed by Mario Draga, once stated that it would not be able to support the position of the rest of the countries due to the "huge" dependence on Russian hydrocarbons.

However, after the Russian invasion, Johnson emphasized, all countries rallied around Ukraine and provide it with constant support. "All - Germans, French, Italians - all, including Joe Biden, saw that there were simply no options. Because you could not agree with this guy," Johnson said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Johnson noted that it was a "key moment."

The representative of the German Chancellor Olaf Schoolz rejected Johnson's statement. "We know that a very interesting former Prime Minister always has a unique relationship with the truth, and this case is no exception," he said.

On January 19, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an appeal to citizens stated that there would be no war. “All our citizens, especially the elderly, need to understand this. Exhale and calm down,” he said then.

A month later, on February 22, at a meeting with the President of Estonia in Kiev, he expressed the hope that there would be no war. A few hours later, Putin announced that Russia recognizes the independence of the so -called DPR and LPR within the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. At the same time, Putin emphasized that he was not going to send troops “now” there, and territorial issues should be resolved during negotiations. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine.

• By mid -November, according to the UN, 6557 civilians were killed as a result of hostilities, including 408 children. These data can be incomplete.
• The Ukrainian authorities are investigating numerous criminal cases against the Russian military, accusing them of crimes against the civilian population. Russia denies its involvement in the murders of civilians.
• According to the calculations of the analytical center KSE Institute at the Kiev School of Economics, by September, due to the war in Ukraine, more than 136 thousand residential buildings, more than 188 thousand personal cars, 1270 schools, 786 kindergartens, 978 medical facilities, 775 cultural objects were damaged. The total damage is estimated at 127 billion dollars.