BORIS JOHNSON TEARS INTO NATO’S STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY OVER UKRAINE
September 15, 2026
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delivered a blunt challenge to Western leaders: if Ukraine is truly a free and sovereign country, why is Russia still being allowed to influence whether it can join NATO?
Johnson argued that Ukraine’s uncertain position between Russia and the Alliance has been a central problem for years. NATO declared in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually become a member, yet it provided no timetable and extended no Article 5 protection. Ukraine was left close enough to the West to anger Moscow—but outside the Alliance when Russia attacked.
When asked why membership is still withheld, Johnson pointed to the enduring fear of provoking Vladimir Putin.
“What a load of bollocks,” he responded.
His argument is that the same strategic caution intended to prevent escalation has repeatedly failed to prevent it. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, expanded the war in 2022 and continues attacking because Moscow believes sustained violence can preserve its influence over Ukraine’s future.
Ukraine cannot join NATO without the unanimous approval of every member, and several governments remain concerned that admitting a country during an active war could bring the Alliance directly into conflict with Russia. Those concerns are real, but indefinite ambiguity carries its own danger: it signals that Moscow may obtain a veto over NATO enlargement simply by continuing the war.
Johnson’s remarks reflect what many supporters of Ukraine are increasingly asking. Is the West committed to Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its alliances, or only committed until that choice becomes uncomfortable?
Military assistance has kept Ukraine fighting, but weapons delivered without a durable security settlement cannot guarantee that Russia will not regroup and attack again. There may be intermediate policies, but there is no sustainable middle ground between defending Ukraine’s independence and allowing Putin to determine its future.
The question is no longer whether supporting Ukraine might provoke Russia. Russia has already escalated. The question is whether the democratic world is prepared to end the uncertainty that Moscow has repeatedly exploited.