Former UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, said France was 'in denial' until the last minute about Russian president Vladimir Putin's intent to invade Ukraine in an interview with CNN. He also said Germany initially wanted Russia to have a quick victory over Ukraine due to economic ties with Moscow. The countries eventually changed their positions when they noticed there was no room for negotiation with Putin, Johnson said. 'What happened was everybody – Germans, French, Italians, everybody, [US President] Joe Biden – saw that there was simply no option. Because you couldn’t negotiate with this guy [Putin]. That’s the key point.'

Germany rejected Boris Johnson claim as 'utter nonsense', with a spokesperson saying the former prime minister has 'his own relationship with the truth'.