A Russian official has renewed a misleading narrative about the collapse of early Russia-Ukraine peace talks, claiming former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scuttled a draft agreement after receiving a £1 million (€1.17 million) donation from a military drone manufacturer.
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dimitriev shared an X post on 21 July alleging that Johnson had "sabotaged" failed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, in an apparent reference to the collapsed March 2022 Istanbul talks.
"Just a kind reminder that Boris Johnson sabotaged the ready-to-be-signed Russia-Ukraine peace deal after he received a £1 million donation from a military drone manufacturer", he wrote on X.
Dimitriev shared his statement in response to an X post published by Johnson, accusing the UK's new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, of opening the door to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to prior diplomatic decisions he made when leader of the centre-left Labour Party.
The so-called "drone manufacturer" Dimitriev is likely referring to is Christopher Harborne, a British businessman, political donor and investor, who holds shares in a company which reportedly supplies military equipment to Ukraine.
