British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to the media after arriving at RAF Brize Norton after a surprise visit to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, to offer a major training operation he believes they could “change the equation” against the Russian invasion of Oxfordshire, UK 18 June 2022.
Joe Giddens | Reuters
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed on Saturday that the public must maintain its support for Ukraine after nearly four months of war.
“We’re concerned that there might be a little bit of Ukraine fatigue around the world,” Johnson told reporters after a trip to Kyiv. “It’s very important to show that we stand by them over the long term and give them the strategic resilience they need.”
Johnson made his second surprise trip to the Ukrainian capital on Friday. In a show of support, the British government offered Ukraine a military training program that could train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days. Johnson’s office said it would “fundamentally change the equation of war.”
Johnson’s visit comes just after French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to offer their support for Ukraine’s EU membership.
The European Commission is expected to grant candidate status to Ukraine at a summit next week after the European Commission recommended the move on Friday. Still, it will likely be years before EU member states can agree to Kyiv’s accession.
All of this is happening while Ukraine continues to fight for its own territory. Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that over the past 48 hours Russia has likely renewed efforts to advance south of Izium in hopes of penetrating deeper into Donetsk Oblast and encircling Sievierodonetsk from the north. The industrial city is a priority target in the Kremlin’s efforts to take complete control of the eastern Luhansk region.
‘We will definitely win!’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awards a Ukrainian soldier outside the southern city of Mykolayiv, Ukraine, June 18, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters
According to the New York Times, Zelenskyi made an unannounced visit to soldiers on the southern front in the Mykolaiv region on Saturday.
The President last month began rallying troops on the frontlines in the war-torn nation.
“Our brave men and women. Each of them is working flat out,” he said on his official Telegram account. “We’ll definitely keep going! We’ll definitely win!”