British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived Friday in Kyiv after a first visit about two months ago, the day after a visit by four leaders of European Union member states.
“Nice to see a great friend of our country again in Kyiv, Boris Johnson,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, while the latter wrote on Twitter: “Good to be in Kyiv again.”
Johnson visited Kyiv on April 9 and was then the first official from a G7 country to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. London has provided strong military support to Kiev ever since.
During a press conference in Kyiv, Johnson announced that he would continue to provide “the military equipment you need as it has been from the beginning, and from now on certainly the necessary training that will accompany it so that you, the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian armed forces (…) can drive the aggressor out of Ukraine.”
A Downing Street statement said Johnson “offered to launch a major training program for Ukrainian forces that could include training up to 10,000 troops every 120 days.”
The British Prime Minister said that this military training program “could change the equation of this war by directing the strongest forces, that is, the determination of the Ukrainians to win.”
“Putin’s forces are under severe pressure and suffer heavy losses. Their expenditures on ammunition, missiles and other weapons are huge and after 114 days of the attacks on Ukraine, they have not yet been able to achieve the goal they set for themselves for the first week,” he added.
Johnson also denounced Russia’s “undisputed war crimes” in Ukraine.
For his part, Zelensky said, “The many days of the war have proven that Britain’s support for Ukraine is strong and resolute,” adding, “We have a common vision of how Ukraine can achieve victory.”
Johnson arrived in Kyiv the day after an unprecedented visit by the leaders of France, Italy, Germany and Romania, all of which are members of the European Union unlike Britain.
They expressed their support for Ukraine to be granted the status of a candidate to join the European Union, which was recommended by the European Commission Friday. A situation that Kyiv hopes will lead to its quick accession to the European bloc.