Boris Johnson – 2022 Comments on the Future of Russia

The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, at the Liaison Select Committee held on 30 March 2022.

We see all sorts of possible futures for Russia. But to get back to the point I wanted to make in answer to your first question, we have to keep this one simple. I have never seen a clearer case of right and wrong. This is about the flagrant violation of international law through the invasion of a totally innocent country. It is about helping the Ukrainians to protect themselves. That is something that unites the whole House of Commons, I hope, and certainly a large number of countries around the world. If we stick to that, we will not go wrong, because I think that the logical consequences, politically and militarily, speak for themselves—I am sure you will have thought it all through.

When it comes to supporting wider civic society in Russia, supporting free media and a free internet, we do a lot of that already. We have just put another £4.1 million into supporting BBC Ukrainian and Russian services to help people get at the truth. We are doing a lot more to promote a proper understanding of what is going on.