Hold your nerve on Ukraine, Boris Johnson tells world

Boris Johnson has urged Western leaders to steel themselves for a long war in Ukraine or risk the ‘greatest victory for aggression in Europe since World War II’.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Kyiv. Picture: AFP

Boris Johnson has urged Western leaders to steel themselves for a long war in Ukraine or risk the “greatest victory for aggression in Europe since World War II”.

The British Prime Minister has called on the UK’s allies to hold their nerve and ensure Ukraine has the “strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail”.

In an article written after Mr Johnson’s surprise visit to Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday and published in The Sunday Times, he says: “Time is now the vital factor. Everything will ­depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack. Our task is to enlist time on Ukraine’s side.”

In a rallying cry to the West, Mr Johnson sets out a four-point plan, including the provision of “constant funding and technical help, which we should plan to sustain for years to come and increase as necessary”.

He calls for more weapons and training for soldiers; greater funding for paying wages, running schools, and delivering aid; transport routes developed to ensure Ukraine’s economy continues to function; and a focus on getting stockpiled food out of the country.

“None of these steps will yield immediate results, though the need to restore food exports could scarcely be more pressing. All will require a determined effort by the UK and our allies, lasting for months and years,” Mr Johnson writes.

Britain is part of an international coalition supporting Mr Zelensky, but it is beginning to show signs of fracturing. Some ­allies have expressed concerns about the impact of a protracted war both on Ukraine and its society and on their own economies.

The Prime Minister made his second visit to the Ukrainian capital to see Mr Zelensky and promised him that the British Army would provide training for up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days. “We will be with you until you ultimately prevail,” he said.

The visit was arranged in secret and Mr Johnson travelled overnight by train.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UKs Prime Minister Boris Johnson with the priest of Mykhaylo Golden Doms cathedral in Kyiv. Picture: AFP

Ukrainian officials have been begging NATO allies for faster ­delivery of longer-range weapons and the replenishment of urgently needed basic supplies, including ammunition.

In recent weeks the war has ­entered a new stage. After Russia’s first multi-pronged advance foundered under poor planning, confused leadership and a nimble Ukrainian response, the Kremlin has retrenched and concentrated its efforts in the east of the country, where Russian forces are making slow but steady progress in brutal artillery clashes thanks to superior troop numbers and a huge advantage in firepower. Ukrainian officials have conceded that they are losing between 3000 and 6000 troops a month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to exploit divisions by claiming at the weekend that the sanctions placed on his country were “more harmful” to those who imposed them.

Mr Putin said the EU could lose more than $US400bn ($577bn) ­because of its sanctions. He said ­inflation was increasing across the 27-member bloc and the real interests of people in Europe were being sidelined.

His view was backed last week by his Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, who accused Britain of “sacrificing the interests of its ­people for political ambitions”. “Their politicians think only of the next election,” he said.

Western nations have been trying to strike a balance between punishing Russia and protecting their economies.

However, Mr Johnson insists the price of a rushed settlement in Ukraine would not be worth paying. “Imagine for a moment that Vladimir Putin’s visions of glory were to come true. Suppose he was free to keep all the areas of Ukraine now controlled by Russian forces,” he writes.

“What if no one was willing to lift a finger as he annexed this conquered territory and its fearful people into a greater Russia? Would this bring peace? Would the world be safer? Would you be safer? In our hearts we know the answer. Such a travesty would be the greatest victory for aggression in Europe since the Second World War.”

In his article Mr Johnson says that seizing all of Donbas was Mr Putin’s objective as long ago as 2014 when he annexed Crimea. Yet he warns that the Russian leader’s failures may not lead him to retreat, but rather still to think that he can still take the region.

“I am afraid that we need to steel ourselves for a long war, as Putin resorts to a campaign of ­attrition, trying to grind down Ukraine by sheer brutality,” he writes.

Mr Johnson’s visit to Ukraine came days after French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made a joint trip to Ukraine.

The Sunday Times