Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Donald Trump's presidency could have averted Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, citing the former U.S. leader's unpredictability as a potential deterrent, The Hill reported.
Speaking on the importance of Ukraine's resistance, Johnson called the conflict a critical struggle for "freedom and democracy" and warned of dire consequences should Ukraine fall.
"Ukraine's fall would be an absolute catastrophe," Johnson stated, adding that Trump "understands that." The former U.S. president, he said, would not want to go down in history as someone who contributed to the resurgence of a Soviet-style regime. "I don't think he will want to launch his second term not by making America great but by making the Soviet Union great again," Johnson said.
Trump, who has expressed skepticism regarding U.S. military aid to Ukraine, has consistently argued on the campaign trail that the conflict would not have escalated had he remained in the White House. Since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the United States has provided approximately $60 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
The former president met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week during the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Ahead of the meeting, Trump told reporters he could quickly broker a deal to end the war.
"We're going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled," Trump said, emphasizing his relationships with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump reiterated his confidence in reaching a resolution: "I think if we win, we're going to get it resolved very quickly." He also noted that Zelenskyy shared his desire for a resolution, saying, "He doesn't want to do this."
Reflecting on Trump's foreign policy record, Johnson praised the former president's unpredictability and uncompromising stance on international issues. Johnson remarked that Trump's unorthodox approach to diplomacy was often misunderstood and pointed to key moments where he believed Trump was effective globally.
"One of the virtues of Trump is his sheer unpredictability," Johnson said. "That's one of the reasons I look at how he behaved on foreign affairs, and I contrast it with what people say about him."
Johnson also highlighted Trump's firm responses to foreign threats, noting that he expelled 60 Russian spies following the 2018 Salisbury poisonings and took a tougher stance on Syria than previous Democratic administrations. "He was tougher on the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps], and then he gave the Ukrainians the Javelin missile," Johnson added.