“Putin should read this book”: Boris Johnson presented “There Are No Shackles” in Lviv

“Putin should read this book”: Boris Johnson presented “There Are No Shackles” in Lviv

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson presented in Lviv the Ukrainian edition of his autobiographical book “There Are No Shackles.” During the meeting, the politician spoke about the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the support from Great Britain, and Ukraine's future in the European Union.

This was reported by “Suspline Lviv.”

The presentation took place as part of the Lviv BookForum festival. The event was moderated by historian Volodymyr Viatrovych.

The Ukrainian edition of the book Unleashed was released by the Kharkiv publishing house “Vivat.” Johnson separately noted that the publishing house was hit as a result of a Russian attack on his warehouses.

“Putin is trying to destroy Ukrainian books. This publishing house was also affected by the attack on its warehouses. But Putin should read this book, because from it he can learn why he will lose. He will never be able to break Ukraine and subdue the Ukrainian people,” Johnson said.

During his speech, the former prime minister also recalled periods of his work as Mayor of London and as UK Foreign Secretary. He also spoke about Brexit and Ukraine's prospects for joining the EU.

According to Johnson, the West should have reacted much more forcefully to Russian aggression as early as 2014 year.

“Now people in the West have forgotten that Ukraine was attacked back in 2014 year. We should have told Putin what later proved to be true: we would arm Ukraine. We should have said: if you do this, we will provide Ukraine with a lot of weapons and money. But we did not. And the world paid a high price because we did not do enough to stop it in 2022 year,” the politician said.

Johnson also noted the resilience of Ukrainians in the war against Russia and the support for Ukraine in Great Britain.

“You have achieved a lot, because you are standing against the second-largest army in the world. You are sustaining this fire of freedom. You inspire people in Britain, where there is very strong support for Ukrainians. In my town there are Ukrainian flags hanging. You are fighting for democracy and freedom in the whole world,” he emphasized.

At the same time, Johnson called it tragic that Ukraine does not receive the necessary help quickly enough. He also mentioned frozen Russian assets.

“For example, Putin assets frozen in Belgian banks — that is 140 billions that could be unfrozen and transferred to help Ukraine,” the former prime minister said.

Johnson assured that Great Britain would continue to support Ukraine in its confrontation with Russian aggression.

What is known about Johnson's book

“There Are No Shackles” is an autobiographical non-fiction in which Johnson talks about his political path. In the book he describes his work as mayor of London, foreign secretary, prime minister, and Conservative Party leader.

The author mentions political crises, professional achievements, controversial decisions, and scandals that accompanied his career. The Vivat publishing house notes that the book stands out for its candid and emotional narrative and contains many stories from behind the scenes of politics.

The Ukrainian edition has an introductory note by Valeriy Zaluzhnyi — the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2021–2024 years.

The book was also nominated for the British Book Award 2025 in the Non-Fiction category.