Boris Johnson’s announced visit to Ukraine comes just days after he urged allies to double down on sending military equipment to Ukraine and speed up an end to the war with Russia.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Sunday (January 22) and met President Volodymyr Zelensky and top officials in the capital city of Kyiv.“It’s an absolute honour to be here,” Johnson told Zelensky. “Honour for us,” the Ukrainian President responded, news agency Reuters reported. Johnson visited the Borodyanka and Bucha suburbs of Kyiv. As the British PM, Johnson had visited Ukraine thrice — the last visit being on August 24 last year.
In Bucha, he took selfies with residents and laid flowers in tribute to the victims of the ongoing war. Johnson told Bucha’s mayor that the United Kingdom (UK) will be sticking by Ukraine, adding, “You’re going to win and you’re going to get all the Russians out of your country, but we will be there for the long-term. And we will also want to be helping you to reconstruct.”
While in Borodyanka, Johnson walked the streets by ruined residential blocks. Kyiv’s regional governor Oleskiy Kuleba, who accompanied the former British Prime Minister, said that 162 residents were killed during the month-long Russian occupation of the suburb last year, adding 60% of the residents had returned.
Boris Johnson’s unannounced visit to Ukraine comes just days after he urged allies to double down on sending military equipment to Ukraine and speed up an end to the war with Russia.
“There is nothing to be lost by doubling down on the material, and equipment that we are sending to Ukraine and there is nothing to fear in escalation, and the best thing for the world is to get this thing done, and done fast,” the former British Prime Minister said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, Reuters reported.
“That is the cheapest solution. It’s the solution that has the lowest cost in human life and suffering,” he added. A day earlier, Boris Johnson was named an honorary citizen of Kyiv by mayor Vitali Klitschko in Davos.
Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his government would provide 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s forces to push Russian troops back. Sunak’s pledge saw an immediate reaction from Moscow which warned it would only “intensify” the conflict.
“Bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population,” the Russian embassy in the UK said last week.
(With inputs from agencies)