Western countries leaders continue their support to the Ukraine government on clashes continuing in the east of Ukraine and the country’s tension with Russia. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has arrived in the Ukraine’s capital city Kiev on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the tension at the Russian border of the country. During his visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed Prime Minister Johnson at in front of the Mariinskyi Palace’s gate. The two leaders were warmly approached each other, and went to a private meeting after a long handshake. After 2 hours long private meeting, Prime Minister Johnson held a joint press conference with President Zelensky.
“More than 100,000 Russian troops are gathering on your border in perhaps the biggest demonstration of hostility towards Ukraine in our lifetimes. And the potential deployment dwarves the 30,000 troops Russia sent to invade Crimea in 2014. It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view would also be, for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well. Alongside other countries we are also preparing a package of sanctions and other measures to be enacted the moment the first Russian toe-cap crosses further into Ukrainian territory. It is vital that Russia steps back and chooses a path of diplomacy and I believe that is still possible. We are keen to engage in dialogue, of course we are, we have the sanctions ready, we’re providing military support and we will also intensify our economic co-operation,” Johnson said during the joint press conference.
Meanwhile, Zelensky pointed out the key issues in the talks with Johnson. “We also discussed a set of steps to deter Russian aggression. My opinion is well known. Any measures are effective before, not after. Prevention is better than resuscitation. This is evidenced by the recent decision of the British government to draft a law that will strengthen and expand sanctions for aggression against Ukraine. We are grateful to the United Kingdom for supporting our European integration aspirations. Another important topic of our meeting was the strengthening of our army in terms of defense. Ukraine is building a strong army. We appreciate the assistance and practical help from the UK on this path. This is 1.7 billion pounds for the Ukrainian Navy, the construction of modern Ukrainian naval bases, a package of security assistance and weapons, when Her Majesty’s Air Force transport planes delivered thousands of modern anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. In addition, we agreed on joint actions to ensure peace and security in the Black Sea region, as well as to intensify cooperation in the field of cyber defense and cyber security,” Zelensky said during the joint press conference.
