Johnson: Putin may admit next year he cannot conquer Ukraine
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson predicts Russia's president could end the war in the coming year or two, while warning that Ukraine's defeat would also threaten the Baltic states. He urges the West to increase pressure on Moscow and keep NATO membership for Ukraine on the table.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with the broadcaster “24 Kanal” that Russia's war against Ukraine must be stopped and that the West needs to increase pressure on Moscow. The interview took place during an air raid alert in Kyiv, where Johnson said it was unacceptable for Putin to attack the capital of an independent European country, adding that the aggression is rooted in nothing more than Russian imperialism and Putin's personal ambitions.
Sanctions alone are not enough
Johnson acknowledged that economic sanctions against Russia matter as a statement of Western political resolve, but said they are not sufficient on their own to stop Russia. He placed greater emphasis on Ukraine's military operations, particularly strikes on Russian oil refining infrastructure, which he said are beginning to affect the situation inside Russia and prompting more of its population to question the war. At the same time, he warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would have far wider consequences, potentially threatening the Baltic states, Poland and the Balkans.
NATO membership as the solution
Johnson argued that Ukraine's accession to NATO would be the surest way to prevent renewed Russian aggression and should not be taken off the agenda. He dismissed concerns that this could provoke Putin, noting that fear of escalation has shaped Western policy for years without resolving the underlying problem. In his view, what threatens Putin is not a free Ukraine as such, but the fact that it offers Russia's own population an alternative model of development, undermining the authoritarian, kleptocratic system in the Kremlin.
A possible end to the war
Johnson said Putin will likely try to inflict even greater suffering on Ukraine this winter, but expressed confidence that Ukraine will be able to keep resisting. He suggested Putin might, as early as next year or the year after, acknowledge that conquering Ukraine has failed and declare the war over, possibly presenting it to the Russian public as having achieved its goals. Johnson also noted that corruption in Ukraine remains an issue that must be addressed before the country can be fully integrated into Western institutions.
