Boris Johnson is far from Downing Street but close to Ukraine. The former prime minister, one of Volodmir Zelensky’s unconditional allies, is continuing his own war in the UK so that Rishi Sunak’s government can deliver weapons to Kiev more quickly.
Johnson is irritated that his successor is not taking on the role with the same enthusiasm he showed following the brief departure of Liz Truss. The most flamboyant politician of recent years returned to Ukraine, where he visited a rehabilitation center for soldiers wounded in battle. According to their reports, around 20,000 Ukrainians have had to undergo amputations so far.
The tragedy of the invasion, as described in an article published in The Spectator, also adopted by The Times, failed to undermine the fighting spirit of the soldiers.
The impossible agreement with Putin
“Don’t believe for a second that these Ukrainian soldiers or the entire population of Ukraine could somehow be persuaded to lay down their arms or reach an agreement with Putin,” he writes in a column in which he warns: “No.” That They are fighting at our behest and will not stop just because we tell them to.”
Johnson calls on Sunak and the other alliance governments to respond immediately to Zelensky’s requests. “What the hell are we waiting for?” he asks. “They only want one thing from us, and that is the weapons to finish the job. So I just don’t understand why we hesitate for so long. Why are we always so slow? How can we look these men in the eyes and explain the delay?
In his new era of return to journalism and opinion analysis, the former prime minister insisted on the need to provide long-range weapons that would allow Ukraine to eliminate Russian positions. He also emphasized the urgency of deploying Patriot systems to defend against air attacks, recalling that this entails “a relatively small effort.”
The man who had to go through the back door of 10 Downing Street was wrong in his initial prediction of war when he warned that Russia would fail in its invasion. He accepted the hurl and reflected: “What’s at stake is enormous.”
“If Putin wins in Ukraine, if he keeps even a fraction of the territories he occupies, then the lesson will be clear that aggression is worth it, that European borders can be changed again through force.”
Message to Trump
Johnson also addresses Donald Trump, the former president who is gaining more and more supporters as time goes on and the number of trials he has to undergo increases. This outcome, he notes, “could not be easily endured by a president of the United States, let alone one who wanted to make America great again,” alluding to Trump’s motto, which is sometimes more akin to Putin than Zelensky.
In the hypothetical event that Ukraine emerges victorious from the conflict that has been going on for more than a year, he warns: “The opposite will happen… Can’t we, in the name of all that is sacred, give something to Ukrainians now?” military support they need to bring things to a conclusion as quickly as possible… Are people being thrown into the morgue of this useless conflict? I’ve asked it before and I’ll ask it again: What the hell are we waiting for?
