Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recently visited Kiev and Lvov, criticized the British government for insufficient assistance to Ukraine in the supply of weapons, in particular long-range missiles.
Johnson wrote about this in his column for the Spectator.
The former head of government recalled how he visited a rehabilitation center with wounded military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and said that neither the fighters nor the Ukrainians as a whole could in any way be convinced to lay down weapons, and on the part of the defenders of Ukraine themselves, Johnson did not see “the slightest weakening of determination”.
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— They are not fighting on our orders and will not stop because we say so. They are fighting a war for independence, they want their country to be free. They think the idea of negotiations is ridiculous… They only want one thing from us — weapons to finish the job. And so I just don't understand why we keep stalling. Why are we always so slow? How can we look these people in the eye and explain why we are procrastinating? — he wrote.
Boris Johnson added that during the Russian-Ukrainian war, Western countries repeatedly underestimated Ukraine and Ukrainians, while there were constantly high expectations regarding Russia and Vladimir Putin.
— And we do the same today,— he added.
The former head of the UK government is convinced that even if the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot reach the strategically important city of Melitopol in the Zaporozhye region this year, they will do so already in 2024.
< p>Johnson called on the UK government to provide Ukraine with man-portable air defense systems, Storm Shadow cruise missiles, howitzers and “as much assistance as we can provide with drone technology”.
Additionally, he noted the need to supply American long-range ATACMS missiles, of which, according to him, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky requested 200 from the United States.
— I've asked this before and I'll ask again: what the hell are we waiting for? — Johnson summarized.
The former British Prime Minister says that in order to win, Vladimir Putin only needs to “hold on to at least a piece of the territory that he has seized since February 24 2022”. But the consequences then, says Johnson, will be dire for the whole world: “This will be the moment when democracies promised to stand up to autocracies, and we failed. The history of Ukraine will be about the Ukrainian army with a lion's heart, which betrayed the West.
