Boris Johnson visits Ukraine for first time since stepping down as UK PM

Boris Johnson was spotted in the Ukrainian town of Bucha on Sunday morning chatting to residents as he toured the area.

The British MP and former prime minister was seen greeting a crowd before getting into a car, guarded by soldiers.

The Conservative politician's visit comes as he faces calls for an ethics investigation following reports he received help in the form of a loan from the man he later recommended to head the BBC.

Rishi Sunak is “supportive” of Mr Johnson’s visit to Ukraine, No 10 Downing Street said.

The Prime Minister’s press secretary said he was “always supportive of all colleagues showing that the UK is behind Ukraine and will continue to support them”.

Mr Johnson visited Ukraine three times during his tenure in No 10. His latest excursion to Ukraine is his first since stepping down as prime minister last September.

In a video released by the President’s office in Kyiv, Mr Johnson was seen approaching President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a group of officials in Kyiv.

Mr Johnson could be heard saying that they “shouldn’t have bothered” with the formal greeting. “I’m too honoured,” he added.

“You do me too much honour, Mr President,” he told Mr Zelenskyy, who replied: “Good to see you Boris, welcome.”

Mr Johnson told Mr Zelenskyy that his entourage had driven past Hostomel, a city north-west of Kyiv, where he had witnessed the effects of “appalling” Russian attacks.

“And it’s still going on every day,” added Mr Johnson. “I will do whatever I can, I really will, I really will.”

Mr Johnson said his latest trip came after he was invited by Mr Zelenskyy.

“It is a privilege to visit Ukraine at the invitation of President Zelenskyy,” he said.

“The suffering of the people of Ukraine has gone on for too long.

“The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win — and to win as fast as possible. This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job.”

Mr Johnson said the sooner Russian President Vladimir Putin's war failed, “the better for Ukraine and for the whole world”.

He took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in Bucha, where mass graves were uncovered last year following the Russians' withdrawal.

Mr Johnson was pictured alongside Orthodox priest Andrew placing flowers in tribute to those killed in the area, during a visit to a local church.

Mr Johnson's plans to travel to Ukraine were first reported in January and sparked criticism from MPs who warned he could risk undermining Mr Sunak's authority.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Select Committee in the UK Parliament, told The Guardian at the time that Mr Johnson should “not interfere with the messaging or the official lines of communication” between London and Kyiv.

Earlier this week, Mr Johnson spoke in a panel discussion on Ukraine at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was introduced as a “legendary figure” in Ukraine.

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Results

Stage Two:

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45

2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates

4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma

5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

General Classification:

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03

2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04

3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10

5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12

Naga

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Company%20profile

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”