As airport blitzed, Odesa to honour ‘protector’ Boris
THE key Ukrainian city of Odesa will honour Boris Johnson to thank Britain for its support against Russia.
Mayor Gennady Trukhanov said people across his country had been ‘impressed’ by the Prime Minister’s ‘strong stance in protecting and helping Ukraine’.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, he added: ‘I am going to suggest that we rename one of the streets or squares here in Odesa after Boris Johnson.
‘I want to express my deep gratitude to Great Britain for taking such a principled and tough position, and in particular to your Prime Minister who calls things as they are.’
Russia has been firing missiles at Odesa – Ukraine’s largest port and thirdbiggest city – in a bid to seize it and cut off the country’s vital access to the Black Sea to cripple the economy.
One rocket attack destroyed a runway at Odesa’s airport, the Ukrainian army said on Saturday.
Regional governor Maksym Marchenko added that the rocket was fired from Russian-occupied Crimea and that there were no reports of injuries.
Local authorities urged residents to take shelter as the Ukrainian news agency, citing army sources, said that several explosions were heard in Odesa.
Mr Johnson had tweeted late on Saturday after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky how he was ‘more committed than ever’ to ‘ensuring Putin fails’. Mr Trukhanov, 57, an ex-army captain, also took a thinly veiled swipe at Brussels for failing to slap an immediate total ban on all Russian energy exports.
‘Today, some EU countries are counting how much gas will cost, how much petrol will cost,’ he said. ‘We cannot put a price on freedom.’
EU governments have paid more than £39billion to Moscow to buy fossil fuels since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to a think-tank, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Romanian MEP Cristian Terhes praised Mr Trukhanov’s idea, saying ‘it would be a great way to recognise how the UK helped Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression’. He added: ‘While Brussels is full of empty talk, Brexit Britain is a true global player opposing Putin’s invasion in every aspect.’
Fontanka, a village 12 miles to the north, has already taken the step of honouring Mr Johnson but Odesa is the first major Ukrainian city to announce plans to follow suit.
Sources close to Mr Trukhanov said the idea would be put forward to the city council once martial law in Ukraine is scrapped. Aides added that the plan is likely to be approved unopposed. Sergei Boyko, 32, a local doctor, said the move would be very popular.
‘Ukrainians will always remember Boris Johnson as the one who helped us in our darkest hour,’ he said.
Britain has been one of the leaders in the West’s response to Russia’s invasion, having started training the country’s military the year after Moscow’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea. The Government has sent £450million in military aid to the Ukrainian army, including thousands of missiles.
But even as Putin amassed tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine’s borders in January, French president Emmanuel Macron accused Mr Johnson and US President Joe Biden of ‘alarmism’.
French spy chief General Eric Vidaud resigned in March over the huge intelligence failure.