Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a surprise visit to Ukraine on Sunday, where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pledged his country’s support in its war against Russia.
Boris, who was prime minister when Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, said Britain “will stay with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speak during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, January 22, 2023.
(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
“You’re going to win and you’re going to get all the Russians out of your country, but we’re going to be there for the long haul,” Johnson said. “And we’ll also want to be helping you rebuild.”
During his trip, the former prime minister visited Borodyanka and Bucha, the suburbs of the Ukrainian capital that have witnessed some of the most terrible atrocities of the war.
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Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba told Johnson that more than 160 residents were killed in Borodyanka during Russia’s month-long occupation of the city last year, though about 60% of residents have since returned.
In Kyiv, President Zelenskyy and senior officials, including the foreign minister, lined up to personally receive the former British prime minister.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walk after their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 17, 2022.
(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
While in office, Johnson sought to position London as one of Kyiv’s main allies in the West. He frequently visited Kyiv and called Zelenskyy frequently.
Meanwhile, supporters of Ukraine have pledged billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine during a meeting at the Ramstein airbase in Germany on Friday. International defense leaders discussed Ukraine’s urgent request for Leopard 2 tanks, with the lack of a deal overshadowing the new commitments.
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“This is the time to redouble our efforts and give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job. The sooner Putin fails, the better for Ukraine and for the entire world,” Johnson said in a statement.
Emergency workers clear rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multi-storey building, leaving many people under the rubble, in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, January 14.
(AP/Evgeny Maloletka)
The last week was especially tragic for Ukraine, even by the standards of a brutal war that raged for almost a year, killing tens of thousands of people, uprooting millions more and creating vast destruction of Ukrainian cities.
A barrage of Russian missiles struck an apartment complex in the southeastern city of Dnipro on January 14, killing at least 45 civilians. On Wednesday, a government helicopter crashed into a building housing a kindergarten in a Kyiv suburb. Ukraine’s interior minister, other officials and a child on the ground were among the 14 people killed.
Zelenskyy vowed on Sunday that Ukraine would ultimately prevail in the war.
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“We are united because we are strong. We are strong because we are united,” the Ukrainian leader said in a video address while marking the Day of Unity of Ukraine, which commemorates when eastern and western Ukraine came together in 1919.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
