by Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he was convinced of Ukraine’s victory over Russia and denounced the “gigantic mistake” of the invasion launched by the Kremlin.
Boris Johnson, the first Western leader to address the Ukrainian parliament since the start of the conflict, hailed the country’s bravery in exploding “the myth of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s invincibility”.
“I have a message for you today: Ukraine will win, Ukraine will be free,” Boris Johnson told parliamentarians by video conference, after singing the Ukrainian national anthem.
“This is a finest hour for Ukraine, which will be remembered for generations to come,” he said, echoing words spoken by Winston Churchill in 1940 when Britain was threatened with be invaded and defeated by Nazi Germany.
“The so-called irresistible force of (Vladimir) Putin’s war machine shattered on solid Ukrainian patriotism and love of the fatherland,” he added.
Boris Johnson has announced an additional £300 million in military aid to Ukraine, including “weapons, funding and humanitarian aid,” until Ukraine is “fortified” against any attempt to ‘invasion.
The British Prime Minister’s speech is however criticized by the opposition who accuse him of diverting attention from the scandals with which he is associated on the rallies in Downing Street during the strict confinements of COVID-19.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman denied the accusations.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, who was present in the Ukrainian parliament for the first time since the start of the war, thanked London for its support, stressing that in his view the United Kingdom and Ukraine were now friendly nations and sisters.
(Report by Kylie MacLellan, written by William James and Elizabeth Pipern; French version Dina Kartit, edited by)