Details of Zelenskyy and Johnson’s talk are revealed

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – FRIDAY, 17 JUNE 2022, 17:59 p.m.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, members of the President’s Office and government representatives have met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the supply of heavy weapons and air defence systems, economic support for Ukraine, tougher sanctions on Russia and security guarantees.

Source: Andrii Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, on Telegram; Zelenskyy on Telegram; the president’s website

Details: Yermak said that Zelenskyy, members of the President’s Office and government representatives had met with Johnson.

Quote from Yermak: "Boris and I discussed the necessity of supplying Ukraine with heavy weaponry and air defence systems, economic support for Ukraine, tougher sanctions on Russia, specifically those proposed by the international McFaul-Yermak Group, and also security guarantees for Ukraine and the need for Russian reparations to cover all the damage it has caused our country. And, of course, our victory in the War for Independence."

More details: Zelenskyy said that he and Johnson share "the same view on how to move towards Ukraine’s victory". He thanked the UK Prime Minister for his strong support.

According to the president’s press service, Zelenskyy said that one of the priority tasks is to ensure air defence for Ukraine.

"The main thing today is also to ensure air defence for Ukraine. We have started to move in this direction. Russian missiles remain a threat to our people and to the whole territory of Ukraine. The vast majority of Russian missile attacks are carried out by the Russian army on ordinary people, on civilian infrastructure: homes, schools, hospitals, universities, transport. Clearly this should be a priority for all of us and for our partners – to help us defend ourselves against Russian missiles. This will be a guarantee of life for people in most of our territory," the president said.

Zelenskyy also said that during the talks, the partie discussed the outcome of the third Ramstein-format meeting, at which the UK had promoted Ukraine’s interests.

In addition, the leaders discussed Ukraine’s need for financial and economic support.

"It’s not just finances: we also have a fuel shortage due to Russia’s bombardment of our refinery and our reserves. We also talked about a complex issue – making sure we are ready for the heating season. I am grateful to Boris for his willingness to help our state," Zelenskyy said.

The parties also continued discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, which could provide stability not only for Ukraine, but also Europe and the world. Zelenskyy also discussed the demining of Ukrainian territories with Boris Johnson.

"We have no doubt that we will win, so we are already preparing to rebuild the country after our victory," Zelenskyy said.

For his part, Boris Johnson said he understood that the Ukrainian people could make no compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Ukraine is suffering, the Ukrainian troops are suffering, but all the evidence is that Russian troops are under acute pressure themselves and they are taking heavy casualties. Their expenditure on weaponry is colossal. After 114 days of attack on Ukraine, they have still not achieved the objectives they set out for the first week," Johnson said.

Johnson said Britain wants to give Ukraine strategic endurance, so it will strengthen the global diplomatic coalition in support of Ukraine and work to intensify the sanctions against Putin’s regime.

The British prime minister gave assurances that the UK is ready to continue providing Ukraine with weapons and training the military to use them.

"The Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to do what Ukrainians yearn to do, and that is to expel the aggressor from Ukraine," he stressed.

Background: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Ukraine unannounced on Friday for the second time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.