00:03You're watching Euronews' fact-checking show, The Cube.
00:06Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev shared this ex-post on 21st July.
00:12He claimed that the UK's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson
00:14had sabotaged a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine
00:18after receiving a £1 million donation from a military drone manufacturer.
00:22He shared this long-running claim after Johnson accused Britain's new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband
00:28of opening the door to Russia's invasion of Ukraine through prior diplomatic decisions.
00:33So what's this really all about?
00:35Well, the so-called drone manufacturer Dmitriev is likely referring to is Christopher Harbourn.
00:41He's a British businessman, political donor and investor with shares in a company
00:45which reportedly supplies military equipment to Ukraine.
00:49Two months after Johnson left office in September 2022,
00:52Harbourn donated a sum of £1 million to him.
00:55Leaked files also revealed that he accompanied Johnson on a visit to Ukraine
01:00which included meetings with top officials in September 2023.
01:04The reason why Harbourn took part in the trip remains unclear.
01:07In October, Russian state-owned news agency TASS published an article
01:11in which it referred to a report by The Guardian
01:14which allegedly stated that Johnson could have advocated prolonging the war in Ukraine.
01:19However, the article listed Johnson's ties to Harbourn and details of their Ukraine trip
01:24but did not speak about an intent to prolong the war.
01:27These claims have been repeatedly pushed by Russian media
01:30including by state broadcaster Channel One
01:32which framed its article to suggest that The Guardian had blamed Johnson
01:37for the failed 2022 Istanbul peace talks.
01:40In reality, The Guardian did not mention the failed talks or the word bribe.
01:44The idea that the West wants the war in Ukraine
01:47is a narrative consistently pushed by the Kremlin
01:50to shift blame for the current invasion.
