Boris Johnson discussing a phone call with Putin before the invasion:

... Boris Johnson had warned that there would be tougher western sanctions if Russia invaded, and that support for Nato would increase – even if Ukraine was not close to becoming a member.

“He said, ‘Boris, you say that Ukraine is not going to join Nato anytime soon ... What is anytime soon?’, and I said, ‘Well it’s not going to join Nato for the foreseeable future. You know that perfectly well,’” Johnson said of the call with Putin. ...


... Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, also spoke in the documentary about a visit to Moscow in February in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate and see off war. He met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, as well as the chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov.

“I remember saying to minister Shoigu, ‘They will fight’ and he said, ‘My mother is Ukrainian; they won’t!’ He also said he had no intention of invading,” Wallace said.