Boris Johnson’s bond with Ukraine is greater than you think

When visiting Ukraine you would be forgiven for thinking that Johnson was still the British prime minister, writes Bel Trew

Pictures of the former PM cycling adorn the walls of a Lviv hotel (AP2010)

Every wall of the Rover Hotel in Lviv is inexplicably covered with photos of Boris Johnson cycling. In fact, the entire theme of the hotel is dedicated to our former prime minister (and his bikes).

Sitting on my bed, Boris stared down at me in a striped beanie; a photo taken when he was mayor of London. On the wall behind he waves, gleefully perched on a Barclays “Boris bike”, next to Arnold Schwarzenegger riding alongside him in a suit.

The brickwork of the hotel corridor outside has Boris on a bike next to the London Eye. A few doors down Boris is dismounting and adjusting his shoe in a cycling helmet. Everywhere is Boris, Boris, Boris.

And in Ukraine, this is not an anomaly.

Just last week Mr Johnson was given an honorary “citizen of Kyiv” medal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos by Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko .

It follows the Ukrainian government bestowing him with the Ukrainian “Order of Liberty” medal; the highest honour the country can give those who are no not Ukrainian.

Last summer Odesa also made him an honorary citizen of the strategic port city. Several Ukrainian towns have already announced plans to rename streets after him. In Lviv in the summer, local brewery Pravda made a special edition Boris Johnson beer, which sold out immediately.

That is because in Ukraine, the most famous foreign figure – bar President Putin himself, obviously – is Boris Johnson.

And so it is no surprise that on Sunday – despite being an ex-premier and so wielding comparatively little power – he was greeted like a world leader by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who according to Mr Johnson personally invited him back to the capital.

In the unannounced visit he toured Bucha and Borodyanka, towns located in the Kyiv region.

There Mr Johnson took selfies with residents, laid flowers, and told the mayor of Bucha: “I can tell you that the UK will be sticking by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

“We will also want to be helping you to reconstruct,” he added, despite, presumably, having no real power to guarantee that.

He was later personally welcomed by the Ukrainian president and a row of top officials, including the foreign minister and the head of the president's office, who lined up near the presidential administration in the heart of the city.

Watching the footage you would be forgiven for thinking that Mr Johnson was indeed still the British prime minister. Across the country most Ukrainians, I would wager, wish he still was.

And this will ultimately cause tensions back at home. Despite the fact that Downing Street had sanctioned today’s visit – saying in a statement that the prime minister is “always supportive of all colleagues showing that the UK is behind Ukraine” – it is potentially embarrassing for Rishi Sunak, a person no one in Ukraine knows.

Several prominent figures had voiced their concerns. Ahead of Johnson’s Kyiv visit, former army chief Lord Dannett told The Independent that he was a “loose cannon” whose plan could “upstage” the prime minister.

Ex-first sea lord West also warned the former PM against “looking for publicity”, urging him to keep “in the background”.

Senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defence select committee, meanwhile implored Mr Johnson not to “interfere” with the official relations between the countries when the possibility of Mr Johnson’s trip first emerged.

It will be a tricky line for Downing Street to walk. In terms of relations with Ukraine, to Ukrainains Mr Johnson is still the UK’s only figure and a national hero.

In fact in June a poll published by UK peer Lord Ashcroft gave Johnson a 90 per cent favourable rating among Ukrainians, placing him just 3 per cent behind President Zelensky himself.

MPs and officials The Independent interviewed have said he has set the “highest benchmark” internationally in terms of support of Ukraine.

In virtually every interview conducted by The Independent, from civilians trying to survive in frontline cities to senior defence officials, Boris has been praised as Ukraine’s closest ally.

Back in November I interviewed a women in her sixities in Bakhmut – arguably the deadliest town in Ukraine – as deafening shelling sounded in the background. The woman repeatedly berated British citizens for allowing Mr Johnson to resign in the first place.

Johnson fever started because under his leadership the UK was also among the first foreign nations to supply heavy weaponry early on, including Nlaw anti-tank weapons, M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and short-range Brimstone missiles.

Mr Johnson was also perceived as playing a key role rallying Europe around Ukraine. No one here cared about him becoming increasingly embroiled in scandals in Britain. Instead, as his problems mounted in the UK he repeatedly visited Kyiv – likely as a respite from the growing clamour for his resignation in London – reaching celebrity status as "Borys Johnsoniuk".

Even though just last week Mr Sunak announced he would supply Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks and other heavy weaponry, it is Mr Johnson who, I bet, will get credit for this.

And this will only cause more problems for the Conservative party, and Mr Sunak, in the future.