Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told how the EU countries reacted to the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Johnson said this in an interview with CNN. 

He noted that Germany considered the war a disaster, but wanted everything to end quickly - Ukraine capitulated and it was possible to continue cooperation with the Russian Federation.

France did not fully believe that the Russian Federation could launch such a bloody invasion. 

"This event was a huge shock. We saw Russian battalion tactical groups being drawn up, but different countries had very different views on this. At a certain stage, the German position was that when this happened, it would be a disaster, but it would be better , if it all ended quickly," Johnson said.

The former prime minister of Great Britain also criticized the Italian government at the time, which did not share Johnson's position and stated that they were dependent on Russian energy sources.

Johnson admitted that recently the EU has changed a lot in its policy towards Russia. 

"After all my worries, I pay tribute to the way the European Union acted. They were united. The sanctions turned out to be tough," Johnson said.

Boris Johnson's role in protecting Ukraine from Russia 

Boris Johnson was one of the first world politicians to actively support Ukraine in the war against Russia.

He came to our capital after the de-occupation of Kyiv Oblast to support Ukrainians. 

Also, it is Great Britain that provides significant military aid to Ukraine.

In November, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi the Russian Federation's statements about withdrawing from Kherson and assured Ukraine of further support, in particular promising weapons and ammunition for the military.

Also, the British government will hand over a thousand surface-to-air missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are needed to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure.

Read also: 

  • Boris Johnson assessed Zelensky's actions during the war: "Without him, history would have turned out differently"

  • Johnson urged the West not to push Ukraine into a "dirty" deal with Putin

  • Johnson assessed whether Putin would use nuclear weapons against Ukraine: "He would be crazy"