Boris Johnson has never been known for restraint. As prime minister, he was a showman, a man of grand gestures and memorable one-liners, from his Brexit battles to his pandemic briefings. But his latest venture is something genuinely different: a serious, stripped-back documentary about the war in Ukraine, in which he puts his own safety at risk and delivers a sober, no-frills account of a devastating conflict.
The former prime minister is the face of Boris Johnson: Into Ukraine's Kill Zone, a 90-minute film for Channel 5 that trades political bombast for frontline gravitas. Johnson travels to Ukraine on an unannounced trip to report on the war and to make the case for increased British support. For viewers, the surprise is not just that Johnson went — it is how he behaves once he gets there.
A Different Boris Johnson
From the opening scenes, Johnson appears to have swapped his usual performance stage for a bulletproof vest and a woolly hat. The documentary begins with a woman recognising him on the street. "It's really you," she says in surprise as he removes his hat to reveal that unmistakable shock of blond hair. It is a light moment in an otherwise tense journey. The former PM is in "proper journalist mode," jotting down notes as he conducts interviews with soldiers, clergymen, and charity workers. There is no clowning around, no spouting Latin, and no evasive stump-speech manoeuvres. Instead, Johnson seems genuinely moved by what he sees.
The shift in tone is deliberate. This is not a personality-led travelogue or an exercise in self-promotion. It is a serious film with a serious purpose: to remind British viewers why Ukraine still matters and why Western support cannot falter.
A Dangerous Assignment
Johnson takes considerable risks in making this film. During his first night on the front line, he is woken by the sound of drone strikes on a nearby apartment block — a building similar to the one where he is staying. The danger is not abstract. When he visits a shop that has remained open in the "kill zone," an elderly woman confronts him. "What would you do if they started bombing? Look around!" she shouts, gesturing at the flattened buildings and piles of rubble around her. It is a stark reminder that for Ukrainians, this is not a political debate but a daily struggle for survival.
For security reasons, Johnson travels incognito. The hair makes him instantly recognisable, so at one point he exchanges his hat for a balaclava. A member of the film crew jokes that the Ukrainians would have preferred a visit from Yvette Cooper, who was Foreign Secretary at the time the programme was made. "Sorry to let you down," Johnson jokes back. But the humour is fleeting. The only moment real fear flashes across his face is when Ukrainian soldiers show him a homemade bomb. They laugh and tell him to relax: it has not been fitted with a detonator yet.
Inside the Kill Zone
The documentary opens with footage of a Russian drone attack on a civilian passenger train, an assault that killed six people and injured many more. "It wasn't an accidental hit but a premeditated attack and nothing short of an act of terrorism," Johnson says, letting his disgust show. He denounces Vladimir Putin's tactics as cruel and barbaric, and praises the spirit of the Ukrainian people. Throughout the film, he is at pains to illustrate both the resilience of the Ukrainians and the urgent need for more Western weaponry.
One of the most revealing sequences shows Johnson visiting soldiers who are fashioning bombs out of improvised materials, including a piece of plastic toilet pipe. This is a "hand-to-mouth" munitions system, Johnson explains, and he presses the case for supplying Ukraine with more sophisticated arms. The message is clear: Ukrainians are doing more with less, but they should not have to fight a modern war with scraps.
The Human Cost of War
Johnson is good at connecting with people. He praises a soldier for shooting down a Russian drone with the phrase, "You shot the a--- off that one." He finds common ground over parenthood and expresses genuine admiration for the men and women who hold the line. But he never lets the viewer forget the human toll. The film is punctuated with images of destroyed homes, crowded shelters, and grief-stricken families. The war, Johnson argues, is not a remote geopolitical conflict but a very real battle between good and evil.
"I just don't think I've ever seen such a clear case of right and wrong, good and evil. What Putin did was absolutely criminal," Johnson says of the invasion. That sense of moral clarity drives the entire documentary. It also explains why Johnson is willing to put himself in harm's way to tell this story.
A Call for More Support
The film is not merely a documentary; it is a political argument. Johnson says he is making it because he loves Ukraine and is driven by a sense of justice. He uses his platform to push for greater Western involvement, urging governments to move beyond symbolic gestures and provide the kind of weaponry that can actually turn the tide. The makeshift nature of the Ukrainian war effort, he suggests, is both a testament to their ingenuity and a rebuke to those who have been slow to help.
Critics, of course, may see the film as an attempt at self-reinvention. Johnson left office under a cloud of scandals, and a serious documentary about a noble cause could help rehabilitate his public image. But whatever his motivations, the film itself is undeniably effective. It brings viewers into the heart of the conflict and forces them to confront difficult questions about responsibility, sacrifice, and the limits of Western support.
Russia's Response
Unsurprisingly, Russia has responded to the documentary with hostility. The Kremlin issued a statement accusing Johnson of scuppering a possible peace deal in 2022 and therefore bearing some "personal responsibility" for the loss of life. The allegation refers to Johnson's visit to Kyiv in April 2022, when he was prime minister, and his vocal encouragement of Ukrainian resistance at a time when Russia reportedly hoped to negotiate a settlement. Russian officials have long tried to blame Johnson for prolonging the war, and the documentary has given them a fresh opportunity to do so.
Johnson dismisses such claims and stands by his position that Ukraine must be supported unconditionally. The documentary itself is a direct rebuttal to the idea that Ukraine should be pressured into territorial concessions. Instead, Johnson frames the conflict in stark terms: Ukraine is the victim, Russia the aggressor, and the West has a moral obligation to help.
A New Role on the International Stage?
Whether this marks the start of a wider reinvention remains to be seen. Johnson has long been drawn to the world stage, and there are echoes of his heroes, including Winston Churchill, in his willingness to travel into danger zones and speak truth to power. Some observers wonder if he is trying to turn himself into a Tony Blair-like figure on the international stage, using his celebrity, connections, and oratorical skills to influence foreign policy from the outside. Channel 5, for its part, seems happy to present him as a serious broadcaster, and one can imagine a future series of Johnson-led documentaries exploring other global hotspots.
The film is a reminder that even the most polarising politicians can sometimes transcend partisanship. For 90 minutes, Johnson is not a Conservative former prime minister; he is a witness, a storyteller, and an advocate. That does not erase his complicated political legacy, but it does suggest that he still has something to offer beyond the usual headlines.
Throughout the documentary, the viewer is left with the image of Johnson walking through the ruins of Ukrainian towns, listening to survivors, and asking questions that many in the West have forgotten to ask. The war in Ukraine has been going on for years, and fatigue has set in among some allies. Johnson's film is an attempt to cut through that fatigue, to remind audiences of the stakes, and to make the case that indifference is not an option.
It is difficult to watch Boris Johnson: Into Ukraine's Kill Zone and not be affected. The images are harrowing, the stories are heartbreaking, and even the most cynical viewers may find themselves moved by the courage of ordinary Ukrainians. Johnson deserves credit for using his platform to amplify their voices, even if his own motives remain open to debate.
The documentary airs on Channel 5 on Friday 24 July at 9pm and will also be available on channel5.com. It is a compelling piece of television, and whether you love or loathe Boris Johnson, it is impossible to deny that this is his most serious and dignified public appearance in years.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment News