Boris Johnson has made a second surprise visit to Ukraine to hold face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A message on Mr 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.”
Mr Johnson tweeted a picture of himself with Mr Zelensky, adding: “Mr President, Volodymyr, it is good to be in Kyiv again.”
Mr President, Volodymyr,
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 17, 2022
It is good to be in Kyiv again. pic.twitter.com/wbpMuf6YqY
The Prime Minister had been expected at a conference of the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs in Doncaster but cancelled at the last minute.
No 10 said Mr Johnson was in Kyiv with an offer of a major training operation which could see UK armed forces and international partners teach up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers every 120 days.
Downing Street said it would "fundamentally change the equation of the war, ensuring the Armed Forces of Ukraine have the resilience they need to be victorious in their fight for enduring peace."
The training, which would take place outside of Ukraine, would use "battle-proven British Army expertise" to help Ukrainian troops "accelerate their deployment, rebuild their forces, and scale-up their resistance as they continue to defend their nation’s sovereignty against Russian invaders."
Mr Johnson said: "My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail.
"As Ukrainian soldiers fire UK missiles in defence of your nation’s sovereignty, they do so also in defence of the very freedoms we take for granted.
"That is why I have offered President Zelenskyy a major new military training programme that could change the equation of this war –harnessing that most powerful of forces, the Ukrainian determination to win.
"Two months on from my last visit, the Ukrainian grit, determination and resilience is stronger than ever, and I know that unbreakable resolve will long outlive the vain ambitions of President Putin."
Earlier today, the European Commission recommend Ukraine be given candidate status to join the EU.
Though, it could still take years before the country achieves full membership.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel