UK set to offer kyiv additional military training to ‘change the war equation’, says Johnson

The UK government is poised to give Ukraine ‘strategic toughness’ by supplying the country with arms and military training in sweeping measures, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said during his second surprise visit to Kyiv since the start of the war.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Johnson confirmed that his government would offer Ukrainian forces a major training program that would have the capacity to train up to 10,000 troops every 120 days. .

“I have offered President Zelensky a major new military training program that could change the equation of this war – harnessing the most powerful of forces, Ukraine’s determination to win,” the British prime minister said.

Confirming extensive deliveries of lethal weapons to Ukraine, Johnson noted that “as Ukrainian soldiers fire British missiles to defend your nation’s sovereignty, they also do so to defend the very freedoms we take for granted.” .

Johnson’s offer of further aid to Ukraine comes as the UK grapples with a financial crisis that has left Britons facing record inflation and unemployment.

Meanwhile, Johnson has also pledged to “free the grain”, which he says is “held hostage” by Putin.

“We will do everything to continue to strengthen the diplomatic coalition of support for Ukraine around the world. We will work together to liberate the grain, as you rightly say, which is currently being held hostage by Putin, depriving people around the world of the food they need,” he said.

Earlier this month, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also made a secret visit to Ukraine to meet with Zelensky and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the meetings focused on the UK continuing to provide Ukraine with “operationally effective lethal aid”.

Britain was the first European country to send lethal aid to Ukraine and has since sent military aid worth over £750million, including thousands of anti-tank missiles, air defense and armored vehicles, to Ukraine.

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