Zelensky is happy to see Johnson’s vote victory
UKRAINE’S President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is “very happy” that Boris Johnson is still UK Prime Minister, after he survived a confidence vote.
Mr Zelensky called Mr Johnson a “true friend of Ukraine” as he addressed an online event hosted by the Financial Times yesterday.
The president told the newspaper: “I am very happy about this. Boris Johnson is a true friend of Ukraine. I regard him as our ally, and Great Britain as a great ally.”
Speaking by a video link through a translator, Mr Zelensky also said: “Boris is supporting us. Boris is very concrete in supporting Ukraine. I do not know who was responsible for this decision yesterday, but I’m glad we have not lost a very important ally. This is great news. That is all I can say.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister
enjoys a very close relationship with President Zelensky. He believes it is vital to how the UK is able to adapt and support Ukraine in this fast-moving situation.”
According to the spokesman, the relationship during the conflict instigated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “benefits both the Ukrainian people in being able to be responsive to the support they need but also to ensure the UK is at the forefront of providing that support”.
In a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Johnson reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine. He also said it was vital that Mr Zelensky was not pressured into accepting a bad peace and that the world must avoid any outcome in which Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression appears to have paid off.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told ministers that Ukrainians had achieved some recent success, but Russia was also making slow advances. She said the UK would continue its support with further sanctions in the pipeline.
The Cabinet meeting took place after Mr Johnson’s leadership was wounded on Monday evening, when he survived a confidence vote but 148 Conservative MPs still voted against him.
Ahead of the vote, the Prime Minister shared a picture of himself on the phone to Mr Zelensky.
Mr Johnson wrote on Twitter: “President (Zelensky) just updated me on the ongoing battle against Russian aggression in the Donbas. It’s clear the Ukrainian people will not bow to Russian brutality. We’re unwavering in our mission of ensuring Ukraine is defended and supported for the long term.”
■ A Ukrainian MP has said her country is “truly grateful” for the UK’s donation of long-range missiles, but said more air support is needed to compete with Russia.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Britain will send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which have a longer range than any missile technology currently in use in the war. “That will actually make a difference on the battlefield,” Inna Sovsun, the deputy leader of the Holos Party, told the Press Association. “If it did come earlier, we would have saved so much life and so much less damage would have been done.
“Everybody speaks of the bravery of the Ukrainian army, but bravery doesn’t save you from the Russian missiles and artillery,” declared Ms Sovsun, who said that Ukraine is still in need of fighter jets. She added: “We don’t have the air support that we need.”