Boris Johnson offers Ukraine military training boost during surprise visit for talks with Zelensky

UK-led programme could train up to 10,000 troops every 120 days in bid to ‘change the equation’ in war with Russia

Boris Johnson has offered battle training for tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops during an unannounced visit to Kyiv for talks with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The prime minister’s second trip to the war-torn country came a day after a joint visit by French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi and two months after his own first meeting with Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital.

Mr Johnson said that a UK-led programme using British Army expertise could train as many as 10,000 Ukrainian service personnel every 120 days, in a move which he said could “change the equation” in what has become a drawn-out war of attrition against Russian invaders.

“My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people,” said Mr Johnson. “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 Zelensky 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.

“Two months on from my last visit, the Ukrainian grit, determination and resilience is stronger than ever, and I know that unbreakable resolve will long outlive the vain ambitions of President Putin.”

Speaking alongside Mr Johnson in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky described the prime minister as a “friend of freedom” and thanked him for the “unparalleled support” offered to his country in response to February’s invasion.

He said the pair had discussed Ukraine’s need for heavy weaponry to counter Russian rocket attacks on civilian areas. Welcoming UK sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s regime, Mr Zelensky said Russia should be made to pay “the steepest price” for its aggression.

On the day when London hosted a Ukrainian business delegation to discuss rebuilding devastated areas of the country after the war, Mr Zelensky said it was necessary to prepare for “post-war reconstruction after our victory”.

Mr Johnson said he was pleased to see that life was returning to Kyiv’s streets compared to his previous visit in April.

But he said: “We have to face the fact that only a couple of hours away, a barbaric assault continues on entirely innocent people. Towns and villages are being reduced to rubble, and we continue to see a deliberate targeting of civilians, which is unquestionably a war crime.”

In an apparent swipe at EU leaders like Mr Macron who have discussed the possibility of seeking a peace deal with Moscow, the PM told Zelensky that he understood why Ukrainians can “make no compromise with Putin”. Talks should take place only after the invading troops have been expelled from Ukrainian territory, he said.

Mr Johnson’s visit came on the day that the EU agreed to offer Ukraine candidate status, in a major step towards membership of the bloc for the former Soviet state.

After the head of Britain’s armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said that Russia had been “strategically defeated” in its invasion of Ukraine, Mr Johnson said it was clear that Putin’s troops were “under acute pressure” and taking high levels of casualties while using up “colossal” supplies of munitions.

He told Zelensky: “We will continue, as we have from the beginning, to provide the military equipment you need – and now, of course, the training that may be necessary to go with that new equipment – so that you, the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian armed forces, will be able to do what I believe Ukrainians yearn to do, and that is to expel the aggressor from Ukraine.

“That will be the moment for talks about the future of Ukraine and it will be in that context of a free Ukraine that we and other countries will be making the security commitments and guarantees we have discussed so often.”

Pictures released by the Ukrainian government showed the pair walking in the streets of Kyiv with military guards, Mr Johnson dressed in suit and tie and Mr Zelensky in army-style olive-green fatigues.

Mr Zelensky showed Mr Johnson the wreckage of burned-out Russian tanks and other vehicles on display in St Michael’s Square in the centre of the city.

The surprise visit, which was kept secret until after the PM’s arrival, forced Mr Johnson to pull out without explanation from a planned speech to northern Tories in Doncaster, as well as a visit to the Wakefield constituency which Conservatives are expected to lose in a by-election next week.

His no-show sparked anger among members of the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs, with a senior member telling reporters: “Boris agreed to come and speak to the biggest caucus of Conservatives in the party - this group, who represent his majority, and came through for him in the leadership vote.

“That goodwill is gone. His actions have shown a total contempt for colleagues, contempt for members and contempt for the North.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukraine Government/PA) (PA Media)

Under Mr Johnson’s plans, Ukrainian soldiers would spend three weeks on training courses outside the country, learning battle-winning skills for the front line, as well as basic medical training, cyber-security and counter-explosive tactics.

Alongside the training offer, the leaders also discussed how the UK can play a role in ending Russia’s blockade of grain leaving Ukraine via the Black Sea.

The UK has already pledged more than £1.3bn in economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine – including more than 5,000 NLAW anti-tank missiles, long-range multiple launch rocket systems, and artillery systems including 155mm self-propelled guns.