KYIV, Ukraine — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in show of solidarity.
The two leaders meeting Saturday will discuss the “UK’s long term support to Ukraine’’ including a new package of financial and military aid, the prime minister’s office said. The visit was not announced in advance. An image of the two leaders at a conference table was posted online by the Ukrainian Embassy in London. The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrij Sybiha, said they were meeting in Kyiv.
The visit comes a day after Johnson pledged another 100 million pounds ($130 million) in high grade military equipment to Ukraine, saying Britain wants to help Ukraine defend itself from continuing Russian assaults.
Speaking Friday at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Johnson said he would give Ukraine’s military more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, another 800 anti-tank missiles and precision munitions capable of lingering in the sky until directed to their target.
He also promised more helmets, night vision and body armor. The items were in addition to some 200,000 pieces of non-lethal military equipment from the UK that had already been promised.