Boris Johnson makes surprise second visit to Ukraine after Russian invasion
17.06.2022 - 20:47
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Boris Johnson has reportedly arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Prime Minister has now made two trips to the Ukrainian capital since Russia invaded the country in February, with the first visit occurring in April as Russian leader Vladimir Putin pushed his forces towards the eastern Donbas region.
Johnson's trip was confirmed by both the Prime Minister himself, and a video from the Ukrainian government, which shows Zelensky greeting the PM with a "hi, Boris" as he arrived at the presidential palace.
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The Prime Minister tweeted a picture of himself with Zelensky with the caption: "Mr President, Volodymyr, it is good to be in Kyiv again.” A message on Zelensky’s Telegram account read: “Many days of this war have proved that Great Britain’s support for Ukraine is firm and resolute. Glad to see our country’s great friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again.”
Johnson pulled out of a conference of northern Tory MPs in Doncaster to make the trip to Ukraine, just two days before a crunch by-election in the region. The trip came one day after Zelensky was visited by French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italy leader Mario Draghi - as Ukraine bids to join the EU.
A spokesperson for Downing Street confirmed that the visit is part of Johnson's offer to launch a new training programme for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days. The programme would train forces using expertise from the British Army for three weeks, teaching basial medical training, cyber-security, and counter explosive tactics if Ukraine decided to