Photo op PM has forgotten bigger picture

It was a race against time for Boris Johnson.

Determined to beat EU leaders to Kyiv, he headed out yesterday for a photo op with Zelensky.

And he got the snap he wanted. A handshake and grin before getting back on the plane. Job done. Kind of.

After all, that’s the optics sorted, PM, now it’s time for action.

During his brief stay Mr Johnson pledged, as is his wont, everything that Ukraine needs to survive as a sovereign nation.

And he’s promised missiles, rockets, armoured vehicles and new anti-ship weapons systems.

That’s a start – these weapons are much needed. They are up against one of the world’s largest and most ruthless armies.

Failed

But the battlefield is not the only place where the PM needs to deliver. He also promised visas. He promised that the UK would make the process as easy as possible for desperate refugees.

That’s a promise he’s failed to deliver. More accurately, his Home Secretary has failed.

Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian MP who took up arms against the Russians, said she was promised visas in three days by Priti Patel – three weeks ago.

We’re used to this Government breaking promises. But to renege on a deal made to such desperate people is unforgivable.

The joke in the Ukraine is that the visas will land when the war is over. Dark humour but frighteningly close to the bone.

Mr Johnson needs to act with the same urgency on this as he did when he sped off to Kyiv.

This is not a photo op, not a headline grabber, not an opportunity to spin. It’s about people’s lives. People we promised to help.

Time to deliver.