“Putin is trying to destroy Ukrainian books. This publishing house also suffered from the attack on the warehouses. But Putin should read this book, because from it he could learn why he is losing. He will never manage to break Ukraine and conquer Ukrainians,” says Boris Johnson.
During the meeting, Boris Johnson also spoke about the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and the mistakes of the international community.
“Now people in the West have forgotten that Ukraine was attacked back in 2014. We should have told Putin what later turned out to be true: we would arm Ukraine. We should have said: if you do this, we will give Ukraine a great deal of weapons and money. But we didn’t do that. And the world paid a heavy price, because we didn’t do enough to stop this in 2022,” says Boris Johnson.
Johnson noted the resilience of Ukrainians and the support for Ukraine in the United Kingdom.
“You have achieved a great deal, standing up to the second-largest army in the world. You are keeping this flame of freedom alive. You inspire people in Britain, where there is very strong support for Ukrainians. In my town Ukrainian flags are hung up. You are fighting for democracy and freedom throughout the world. But these are very tragic events, and you are not getting help as quickly as you should. For example, Putin’s frozen assets in Belgian banks amount to 140 billion, which could be unfrozen and handed over to help Ukraine,” says Boris Johnson.
The former British Prime Minister also emphasized the significance of Ukrainian heroism in resisting Russian aggression.
“The heroism of Ukrainians mattered enormously, and Putin did not understand this. But I think he now realizes that he has lost on this front. He understands that he will never be able to conquer Ukraine and the spirit of Ukrainians. But he is a dictator and cannot simply stop — only force will stop him,” Boris Johnson emphasized.
Boris Johnson spoke about his political career, including his time as Mayor of London (2008–2016), his tenure as head of the UK Foreign Office (2016–2018) and as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Brexit, and international and domestic political crises.
The meeting was moderated by Ukrainian historian, publicist, politician, and public figure Volodymyr V’yatrovych. He said:
“Boris Johnson is an intriguing historian, a sharp-penned journalist, a vivid politician, an ardent euroskeptic, and at the same time a sincere friend of Ukraine.
These are perhaps among the most candid memoirs of a politician of this magnitude that I have had occasion to read. There is plenty of self-praise here, but no shortage of self-irony either. And most importantly, the book allows you to look behind the scenes of great politics and understand the mechanisms of how it functions not only in the United Kingdom, but in democratic states in general.
The most amusing chapters for me were those about running London, the most interesting were about his work as Foreign Secretary. The account of his premiership, of course, is most heavily permeated by the author’s desire to explain and justify his own decisions. The book also contains pages about Kyiv in 2022 and the Russian-Ukrainian war.”
The Ukrainian edition includes a foreword by Ihor Kharchenko — Chief Consultant of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom in 2005–2010. At a special invitation, Ambassador Kharchenko arrived in Lviv to take part in the presentation and meetings with Boris Johnson.
“I believe this book by Boris Johnson is not only a memoir and an interesting historical document, but also — given that our Great War continues despite all sorts of ‘peace initiatives’ — a kind of practical guide for setting one’s thinking in the right direction,” Ihor Kharchenko writes in the foreword.
In his memoir, Johnson recounts key events of recent British history through the lens of his own political experience. The book offers an inside view of the process of making state decisions: Johnson describes political conflicts and crisis situations, explains the motives behind his decisions, and also speaks about the mistakes and controversial moments of his own career.
