Arm Ukraine now, Johnson tells US
Don’t fear escalation, says former PM in Washington, as Sunak rules out sending British fighter jets to Kyiv
Boris Johnson has insisted providing weapons to Ukraine will not escalate the war as he undertook a surprise visit to Washington. The former prime minister paid tribute to the “immense US contribution to the security of Ukraine” and said there was “no case for delay” in helping their forces, adding: “We should have no fear of escalation.” Meanwhile in London, Rishi Sunak has ruled out sending advanced UK fighter jets to Kyiv as the necessary training would take months.
BORIS JOHNSON has insisted providing weapons to Ukraine will not escalate the war as Rishi Sunak ruled out sending UK fighter jets to Kyiv.
During a surprise visit to Washington, the former prime minister said there was “no case for delay” in helping Ukrainian forces and warned “we should have no fear of escalation” in providing weapons.
Meanwhile in London, Mr Sunak yesterday said it was “not practical” to send the advanced jets Kyiv had requested.
Downing Street said training Ukrainian forces to fly Britain’s “extremely sophisticated” jets would take months.
“Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,” his spokesman said, but he did not oppose allies sending their own jets.
It exposed a potential rift between Mr Sunak and his predecessor, who was on a self-described “mission” in Washington. One senior Tory backbencher said Mr Johnson’s behaviour was sowing “confusion as to who’s leading foreign policy”. They added: “It’s not about serving the party, it’s about serving Boris.”
“It’s a real shame that this is a person who could be such an asset to the party if he wanted to be, and is now turning out to be a distraction.”
Mr Johnson is expected to remain in the US today to continue making the case to support the Ukrainians “to win this year”. It was unclear whether he had informed Downing Street of his plans in advance.
He was due to address politicians at the Capitol Hill Club, a private Republicans social club in Washington, last night. The event was being hosted by congressman Joe Wilson, a Republican on the House foreign affairs committee. Mr Wilson, a staunch Ukraine supporter, has proposed installing a bust of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, in the US Capitol.
But Mr Johnson will face a tougher reception among some Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives and have opposed an openended US commitment to Ukraine.
Amid criticism of Mr Johnson’s tour, some UK government sources suggested that the former prime minister was uniquely placed to press the case for continued US support. Mr Johnson continues to enjoy great popularity among American conservatives and has stronger ties than Mr Sunak among his Republican counterparts. During his visit, he is expected to address the influential Republican study committee, the largest ideological grouping within the House of Representatives, which is committed to small government and limited spending.
Today, he will also discuss the need for “Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses” at the Atlantic Council think tank.
Mr Johnson said his visit was “primarily to recognise and pay tribute to the immense US contribution to the security of the Ukrainian people”. He added: “My mission is to demonstrate that Ukraine will win – and that there is no case for delay in further supporting the Ukrainians to win this year. We should have no fear of escalation when it comes to the provision of weaponry.”
Yesterday, he was hosted by Oksana Markarova, Kyiv’s ambassador to Washington, at Ukraine House.
Separately, the Biden administration yesterday accused Moscow of not complying with the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), the last remaining arms control treaty between the two nuclear powers.
The US state department faulted Russia for suspending inspections and cancelling talks, but did not accuse the Kremlin of expanding nuclear warheads beyond agreed limits.