Boris Johnson pledges training for 10,000 Ukrainian troops during surprise Kyiv visit


Paul Carey
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made his second surprise visit to Ukraine where he offered troop-training missions and looked at tightening sanctions on Russia.

He tweeted a picture on Friday of himself and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the words: “Mr President, Volodymyr, It is good to be in Kyiv again.”

President Zelenskyy said they also talked about their weapon requirements. “I appreciate your understanding of our military requirements. That is very important. Particularly, we discussed the need to bolster the supplies of heavy weaponry,” President Zelenskyy said.

“The main thing today is to provide air defence for Ukraine as well. We started to move in this direction. Russian missiles remain a threat to our people, to the entire territory of Ukraine.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: UK Government
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: UK Government

The visit was also announced on Mr Zelenskyy’s Telegram account, which 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.”

A video from the Ukrainian government showed Mr Zelenskyy warmly greeting the prime minister with a “hi, Boris” as he arrived at the presidential palace.

The UK leader told his Ukrainian counterpart that the UK is prepared to launch a major operation to train Ukrainian armed forces, Downing Street said.

He pledged that Britain could train up to 10,000 troops every 120 days, when the two men met during the unannounced visit.

Downing Street said international partners would be invited to host the programme, if the offer is accepted by Ukraine.

In a statement, 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.”

Downing Street said the UK-led programme would train and drill the Armed Forces of Ukraine using battle-proven British Army expertise, allowing them to accelerate their deployment, rebuild their forces, and scale-up their resistance as they continue to defend their nation’s sovereignty against Russian invaders.

The previous Operation Orbital saw the UK train more than 22,000 Ukrainian personnel from 2015 until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The new programme would train forces outside of the country.

They also talked about further sanctions on Russia.

“We discussed in detail new ways to step up sanctions against Russia,” President Zelenskyy said. “We can make sanctions tangible, so that Russia really feels that its aggression, its terrorist actions against Ukraine and against global stability will lead to losses for Russia itself — the aggressor must pay the highest price for this aggression, for this war.”

Earlier, Mr Johnson pulled out of speaking at a Yorkshire conference of northern Conservatives before a closely-contested by-election in the county.

Mr Johnson has been one of the strongest international supporters of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Britain has given the country hundreds of millions of pounds in military and humanitarian aid.

Mr Zelenskyy has praised Mr Johnson for his support during the war with Russia, and spoke out after he survived a vote of no confidence from his own Conservative MPs earlier this month.

Mr Johnson's leadership has been under continued pressure in recent weeks after he received a police fine for breaching Covid-19 regulations in Downing Street. Most recently, his own ethics adviser resigned on Thursday after saying the prime minister had put him in an “odious position”.

He first visited Kyiv in April when he promised the West would continue to “ratchet up” sanctions on Moscow as he praised the courage of the Ukrainian resistance.

Yesterday, the leaders of the European Union's most powerful countries made a joint trip to Kyiv, their first since the war began.

They gave their backing to Ukraine's long-held desire to join the European Union after meeting, which was followed today by backing from the European Commission.

“Ukraine belongs to the European family,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, alongside France's Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Mario Draghi.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's wife Carrie was seen at Royal Ascot in the UK.

Carrie Johnson, centre, wife of Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, arrives with friends at Royal Ascot on June 17. AFP
Carrie Johnson, centre, wife of Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, arrives with friends at Royal Ascot on June 17. AFP
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6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m

7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Players Selected for La Liga Trials

U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
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Nationality: Jordanian

Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
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South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8) 

Canada 7 (Tries: Heaton; Cons: Nelson)

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Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday

ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23

T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29

Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com

Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.

Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

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Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

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Britain's travel restrictions
  • A negative test 2 days before flying
  • Complete passenger locator form
  • Book a post-arrival PCR test
  • Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
  • 11 countries on red list quarantine

     
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Updated: June 17, 2022, 6:24 PM`