British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to the media after arriving at RAF Brize Norton after a surprise visit to meet with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, to propose a major training operation that he says could “change the equation” against the Russian invasion. , in Oxfordshire, Great Britain, June 18, 2022
Joe Giddens Reuters
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed on Saturday that the public must continue to support Ukraine after nearly four months of war.
“The concern we have is that a little fatigue from Ukraine is starting to build up around the world,” Johnson told reporters at the end of his trip to Kyiv. “It is very important to show that we have been with them for a long time and give them the strategic resilience they need.”
Johnson made his second surprise trip to the Ukrainian capital on Friday. The British government, in support, has offered Ukraine a military training program that can train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days. Johnson’s office said it would “fundamentally change the equation of war”.
Johnson’s visit comes shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to offer support for Ukraine’s EU bid.
The European Commission is expected to grant Ukraine candidate status at a summit next week after the European Commission recommended the move on Friday. However, it will probably be years before EU member states can approve Kyiv’s accession to the bloc.
All this is coming as Ukraine continues to fight for its own territory. The UK Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that Russia may have renewed its efforts to advance south of Izyum over the past 48 hours, hoping to advance deeper into the Donetsk region and encircle Severodonetsk from the north. The industrial city is a major goal in the Kremlin’s efforts to take full control of the eastern Luhansk region.
‘We will definitely win!’
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky awards Ukrainian serviceman near the southern city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, June 18, 2022.
Press service of the President of Ukraine Reuters
Zelensky on Saturday visited soldiers on the southern front line in the Nikolaev region during an unannounced visit, according to the New York Times.
In the last month, the president has begun gathering troops on the front lines of a war-torn nation.
“Our brave men and women. Each of them works flawlessly,” he said in his official Telegram account. “We will definitely endure! We will definitely win!”
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