Boris Johnson offered to launch a major training campaign for Ukrainian forces.
Kyiv:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday offered to launch a military training program for Ukrainian forces as he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on his second visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia’s invasion.
Johnson, who survived a no-confidence vote earlier this month, was congratulated by Zelensky as a “great friend” and posted a photo of himself with the Ukrainian president, “Mr. President, Volodymyr, again in Kyiv. It’s good to stay”.
Johnson offered to launch a larger training campaign for Ukrainian forces, with a capacity to train 10,000 troops every 120 days, at the meeting, his office said.
“My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately win,” Johnson said.
“That’s why I’ve offered President Zelensky a major new military training program that could change the equation of this war—Ukrainian determination to win, using the mightiest of forces.”
The unannounced visit was Johnson’s latest endorsement for Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but may have come at the cost of his own lawmakers.
Some were outraged after they canceled an appearance at a convention in northern England, where some Conservatives won traditionally opposition pro-Labour parliamentary seats for the first time in 2019.
The visit also came a day after leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania traveled to Kyiv and endorsed the position of Ukraine’s candidate to join the European Union.
‘shared vision’
Zelensky said, “The many days of this war have proved that Great Britain’s support for Ukraine is firm and resolute. Glad to see our country’s great friend Boris Johnson again in Kyiv.”
He and Johnson discussed the situation at play on the front lines and the need to accelerate the supply of heavy weapons and the build-up of Ukrainian air defense, Zelensky said in a brief statement next to Johnson.
“We have a shared vision of how to move towards victory because that’s exactly what Ukraine needs – the victory of our state,” Zelensky said.
Johnson said in his statement: “We are here once again to underline that we are here with you to give you the strategic stamina you will need.”
He said this would include helping to intensify sanctions on Russia and garner diplomatic support for Ukraine.
Johnson, who faces political pressure at home, has grown in popularity in Ukraine as Britain has extended military and political support to Kyiv during the Russian invasion.
A cafe in Kyiv is selling an apple dessert named Boris Dzhonsonyuk, the Ukrainian version of the prime minister’s name.
Zelensky and Johnson laid a wreath at a memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers and were then taken on a tour of the destroyed Russian military hardware housed in a central square, footage released by the Ukrainian president’s office showed.
Life in Kyiv is slowly returning as Russia withdraws its forces near the Ukrainian capital, but air raid sirens still sound regularly and on June 5 a Russian missile strike hit the suburbs.
Johnson’s office said the new military training program would train Ukrainian forces outside the country. Each soldier will spend three weeks learning basic medical training, cyber security and counter-explosive tactics, along with learning combat skills for the frontline.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)