He emphasized that the allies were wrong every time when they said that new weapons for Kyiv could lead to escalation.
Western allies need to provide Ukraine with all the necessary weapons as soon as possible to win the war with Russia already this year.
This was stated by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference with Ambassador of Ukraine Oksana Markarova at the Ukrainian House in Washington, according to the Voice of America.
“I’m here because I support Ukraine with pride, and to deliver an important message that the United States has played a leading role in helping our Ukrainian friends defend themselves against the brutal attacks of Putin and the Russian military,” Johnson said.
He said that he wanted to convey to Washington that there is no reason to delay aid.
“Our Ukrainian friends must get everything they need to expel the Russians from the entire territory of Ukraine as soon as possible. For this to happen this year – 2023. This is better for Ukraine, the West and Russia. Let’s end this catastrophe as soon as possible,” he said.
The former British prime minister also commented on providing Ukraine with more advanced weapons, including F-16 fighters.
“Each time we have said that we should not provide a certain type of weapon because of the risk of escalation, experience has shown that this was a mistake… Until very recently, we said that we should not even think about tanks, but now we are giving tanks. So, my the main argument: we will continue the discussion. But we will not postpone it,” he emphasized.
Johnson emphasized that it is vital that Ukraine gets the equipment it needs as soon as possible. “This is a humane thing for Ukraine and the whole world,” he said.
According to Johnson, he admires what the US President Joe Biden’s administration is doing, which spent $23 billion on military aid to Ukraine alone.
“The investment that the U.S. has made in resolving this conflict is actually a smart thing in the long run for the entire Euro-Atlantic area. With the deterrence of Russian aggression and the repelling of Russian aggression in Ukraine, the overall savings in the long run will be enormous,” he said.
Johnson repeated the call that the security of Ukraine should be guaranteed in the same way as for NATO countries. According to him, he changed his opinion about Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance.
“I used to think that we needed to find a way to ensure the security of Ukraine with equipment, intelligence, training, so that they could never be attacked again. Now I think that’s enough ambiguities. We tried for decades to keep Ukraine out of NATO, which led to “. to the worst war in Europe in 80 years,” Johnson said.
Aid to Ukraine from partners
On January 14, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the transfer of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems to Ukraine.
On January 25, the German government officially approved the transfer of 14 units of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allowed re-export to other countries.
On the same day, US President Joe Biden announced that the US is providing Ukraine with 31 Abrams tanks and welcomed Germany’s decision to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.
Help . The day before, US President Joe Biden briefly answered “no” to the question about the possibility of supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but did not add any other details. Earlier, the White House stated that they were discussing the issue of supplying additional weapons to Ukraine, including F-16 fighter jets.
