TORY PM Johnson visited the Ukrainian capital on Saturday and walked through the deserted streets of Kiev alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky, flanked by machine gun-wielding bodyguards.
Johnson’s last minute visit was a ‘show of solidarity’ with the Ukrainian people, said Downing Street, simultaneously announcing that the UK would send 120 armoured vehicles and anti-ship missile systems to ‘support Ukraine’ in its conflict with Russia.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister has travelled to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky in person, in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.’
In a statement after the meeting between the two, Johnson paid tribute to ‘President Zelensky’s resolute leadership and the invincible heroism and courage of the Ukrainian people’, saying: ‘Ukraine has defied the odds and pushed back Russian forces from the gates of Kiev’.
He said: ‘I made clear today that the United Kingdom stands unwaveringly with them in this ongoing fight, and we are in it for the long run.
‘We are stepping up our own military and economic support and convening a global alliance to bring this tragedy to an end, and ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation.’
Johnson also confirmed further economic support, taking total UK loan guarantees to £770m.
Speaking in a video address alongside Zelensky a short while later, Johnson said Ukrainians ‘have shown the courage of a lion but you, Volodymyr, have given the roar of that lion’.
He reiterated that the UK and other countries supporting Ukraine would continue to tighten economic sanctions on Moscow, including moving away from the use of Russian hydrocarbons.
Zelensky welcomed the UK’s ‘decisive and significant support’ and urged other Western nations to follow suit.
‘We have to exert pressure in the form of sanctions. It is time to impose a complete embargo on Russian energy resources. They should increase the amount of weapons being supplied,’ he said.
Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of Zelensky’s office, said: ‘The UK is the leader in defence support for Ukraine. The leader in the anti-war coalition. The leader in sanctions against the Russian aggressor.’
