Putin urges guarantees on Ukraine in call with Johnson

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Moscow will insist on Western guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. A recent Russian troop buildup near Ukraine has drawn Ukrainian and Western fears of an invasion, and U.S. President Joe Biden last week warned Putin of “severe consequences” if Moscow attacks its neighbor. Putin has denied plans of launching an attack, but pressed for Western guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. In Monday’s call with Johnson, Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s concern about the “development of Ukraine’s territory” by NATO’s members, saying that it “poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.”