UK’s former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv in an attempt to visit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. When Boris Johnson reached the borders of Kyiv, he was received by President Zelensky himself, along with other ministers from the Ukrainian government. Boris decided to visit Ukraine after receiving an invitation from President Zelensky. He said that visiting Ukraine during such tough times is a privilege to him, especially through an invitation from the country’s President. Boris Johnson has managed to garner significant attention from the local media in the UK after many questions regarding his finances and his relations with BBC’s chairman Richard Sharp rose. With a personal investigation from President Zelensky, Mr. Johnson has managed to put these questions on hold and shift the media’s attention toward his visit to Ukraine.
Last week, the UK praised Ukraine that the country will be sending Challenger 2 tanks as aid to Ukraine against Russia’s heavy artillery. Although this decision was taken by the current UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the decision was openly supported by Boris Johnson, as reported by his spokesperson. Still, it is questionable to see Boris visit Ukraine, instead of other officials from the UK government, such as the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. When asked regarding Mr. Johnson’s visit to Ukraine, PM Sunak said that he supports this visit as it shows that the UK is in support of Ukraine during tough times such as war.
Ukrainian President Zelensky welcomed Mr. Johnson to Ukraine. He said that he welcomes Mr. Johnson in Ukraine. President Zelensky also referred to Mr. Johnson as the true friend of Ukraine and of Kyiv, which is a term often used to represent the Ukrainian government. He also thanked Boris Johnson for visiting the country on the invitation. Zelensky wrote this in his message on Telegram. Besides visiting Kyiv, Mr. Johnson also visited other towns in Ukraine such as the towns of Bucha and Borodyanka which are located on the northwest side of the country. These are two of the regions that Ukraine managed to recapture at the earliest. Although Ukraine managed to recapture these regions pretty quickly, Russian armed forces were able to inflict heavy damage on these towns. The reports which came after these regions were evacuated by the Russians, showed people’s bodies laying on the road in the aftermath of the war.
These were some of the harshest early images to highlight the cruelty of war between Russia and Ukraine. Boris Johnson, after visiting these regions, said that the people of Ukraine have suffered for way too long and now the only way for them to end this suffering is to win the war against Russia, that too as fast as possible. He further added that this is the time to strengthen Ukraine and provide all the tools required for the country to emerge victorious. This highlights the efforts that western countries such as the US, the UK, and other European countries have made toward helping Ukraine. This is mainly because Russia is actively increasing its activities against Ukraine, thus pressuring the western countries supporting Ukraine to provide artillery support.
