President Volodymyr Zelensky met with United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv on April 9. The following is the text of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments resulting from the visit, as posted on the official site of the President of Ukraine (https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/ukrayina-ta-velika-britaniya-j-nadali-posilyuvatimut-antivoy-74221).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson who arrived in Kyiv.
The President thanked the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for his visit to Ukraine at a difficult time for our country.
“This visit is a manifestation of strong, significant, constant support of the United Kingdom for Ukraine. We appreciate it and will remember it,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The President briefed Boris Johnson on the progress of negotiations with Russia, as well as on the importance of providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
“Peace agreements must provide a mechanism of effective guarantees for our state. We talked about this in detail today. We hope that in this process London will play a key role in achieving peace in Ukraine, it will be our common victory,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement to the media following talks with the British Prime Minister in Kyiv.
The Head of State noted that during his visit to Ukraine, Boris Johnson could see with his own eyes the losses and destruction our country has suffered as a result of Russian aggression.
“The conclusion is one and it is common – we have to put even more pressure on the Russian Federation, to put pressure with effective defense against Russia, to put strong pressure in terms of sanctions. I am grateful to the United Kingdom for continuing these powerful sanctions, constantly increasing its packages, and also helping Ukraine by strengthening our defense capabilities,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that other Western democracies should follow the example of Great Britain.
“It’s time to impose a full embargo on Russian energy, to increase the supply of all weapons to us,” he said.
The President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom identified key tasks for bilateral cooperation and coordinated further work.
“We are consolidating the maximum support for our state in strengthening the defense capabilities of our troops, in supporting our citizens both in Ukraine and abroad, in rebuilding Ukraine – we also talked about this with the Prime Minister. We will rebuild our country and our beautiful cities together,” the President said.
For his part, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom noted the courage of the people of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.
“In recent weeks, the world has found new heroes. And these are the citizens of Ukraine,” he stressed.
Boris Johnson noted that war crimes committed by the Russian army in Bucha, Irpin and other Ukrainian cities have dealt a devastating blow to the reputation of the Russian government.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom spoke in favor of providing Ukraine with comprehensive support, especially economic and military-defensive support.
Boris Johnson said that his country is willing to help Ukraine in demining territories. Together with partners it will supply equipment, the latest technology and provide intelligence data.
He also called for increasing joint economic pressure with other partners and intensifying sanctions against Russia. In particular, according to him, it is a question of influence on possibilities of the Russian Federation to use its energy resources.
