The key meeting appears to have come in the Oval Office in February, when Bill Burns, the head of the CIA, made clear that failure to pass aid could doom Ukraine.
A firm Christian, Mr Johnson was struck by stories of the devastation unleashed by Russia.
Conversations with Mr Zelensky, who phoned Mr Johnson again in March to explain why a “quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital”, also appear to have made an impression.
“I really do believe the intel, and the briefings that we’ve gotten,” Mr Johnson said when a reporter asked him on Wednesday why he was suddenly willing to risk his job.
“I believe that Xi, and Vladimir Putin, and Iran really are an Axis of Evil, I think they are in co-ordination on this. I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed, I think he might go to the Balkans next, I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our Nato allies.”
There was also, he admitted, a personal consideration. One of Mr Johnson’s sons is due to enrol in the US naval academy this autumn.
“This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is for so many American families,” he told reporters. “This is not a game, this is not a joke.”
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