Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
01 February 2022•Update: 02 February 2022
LONDON
Further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be a political, humanitarian and military disaster, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in Kyiv on Tuesday.
At a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Johnson said intelligence suggests an “imminent military campaign,” responding to Russian claims that Western countries have exaggerated the threat.
Johnson and Zelensky met in the Ukrainian capital “to discuss ongoing Russian hostile activity, including military buildup.”
“We see large numbers of troops amassing, we see preparations for all kinds of operations that are consistent with an imminent military campaign,” the British premier said.
Johnson said the Russians should understand the reality that Ukraine “will fight,” and there are 200,000 people ready to put up a “very, very fierce and bloody resistance.”
“I hope very much that President [Vladimir] Putin steps back from the path of conflict and that we engage in dialogue, and that is what the UK is intent on producing and that’s why I’m here today," he said, adding that he will speak with Putin on Wednesday.
A phone call between the two leaders was scheduled for Tuesday but later postponed to Wednesday.
Ukrainians will fight ‘until the very end’
Zelensky said “we have to be prepared for bad things,” vowing that Ukrainians will fight “until the very end.”
He urged Russia to “listen and understand that a war is something no one really needs,” asserting that there will be “a tragedy” in case of aggression against Ukraine.
He underlined that “this is not going to be a war between Ukraine and Russia,” but “a European war” and “a full-fledged war.”
Joint statement
A joint statement from Johnson and Zelensky said “the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, which threatens regional peace and security and undermines the global order.”
The two leaders emphasized during the meeting that “it is the right of every Ukrainian to determine their own future.”
They warned that any further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be “a massive strategic mistake and have a stark humanitarian cost.”
The two countries agreed “to work together to strengthen Ukraine’s security and ability to defend itself,” read the statement.
The leaders also “expressed their commitment to strengthen Ukraine’s energy security and support its efforts towards the green transition.”
Johnson “announced £88 million ($118.9 million) of new funding to aid efforts to build Ukraine’s resilience and reduce reliance on Russian energy supplies,” the statement added.
