Boris Johnson Calls for Continued Support for Ukraine

Boris Johnson has called on fellow world leaders to continue to provide support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, with reports suggesting concern among British intelligence services that some countries may start to see peace as a bigger priority than sending a strong message to Vladimir Putin.

The UK prime minister made the comments at the G7 summit in southern Germany, yet another meeting of world leaders set to be dominated by Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The G7 event is closely followed by a NATO summit in Madrid later this week.

Reports in British media this week have suggested concerns among intelligence officials that some nations may be tempted to push the Ukrainian government into reaching a settled peace, with the concession of territory to Russia the only possible way of reaching such an outcome. Whilst stressing that this is at present purely a hypothetical concern, the officials have warned of the message such an approach would send to Moscow.

Johnson called on his fellow leaders to maintain a united front, saying that the financial cost of supporting Ukraine was “a price worth paying for democracy and freedom”.

The prime minister specifically singled out the US in his comments, with the nation by far the best equipped of the G7 nations to provide military support.

“I would just say to people in the United States that this is something that America historically does and has to do,” Johnson said, warning that the global consequences of a Russia victory would be “absolutely catastrophic”.

Johnson is also set to call on his fellow leaders to increase efforts to end a Russian blockade preventing grain exports from leaving Ukraine, a situation which is threatening to cause famine in several developing countries.

Ukraine is one of the world’s major grain producers, with a number of African nations solely dependent on the country for its imports.