London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Ukraine conflict: Ukrainians fighting heroically, says Boris Johnson

Ukraine conflict: Ukrainians fighting heroically, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson says Ukrainians are "fighting heroically" and with "great success" in some places.

Following a call with the Ukrainian president, the prime minister said things "are not going all the way of President [Vladimir] Putin".

But he said more had to be done to "change the heavy odds that Ukraine faces" from the Russian invasion.

Tougher sanctions, including a move to shut Russia out of the global payments system Swift, were needed, he said.

Shortly after Mr Johnson's comments on Saturday night the European Commission alongside the US, Canada and UK announced that selected Russian banks would be removed from the Swift messaging system.

The prime minister, who was speaking during a visit to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, said the UK was sending humanitarian, military and financial supplies to Ukraine.

He added that 1,000 troops were being sent to the region to help with the influx of refugees and he said the government would "of course help people fleeing for their lives".

"Things are not going all the way of President Putin. Very far from it, the Ukrainians are fighting heroically, and in some places with great success," Mr Johnson said.

He said some "terrible atrocities" were being committed and there would be some "very grim days ahead for Ukraine".

Mr Johnson said that Europe had to face the "hideous reality" that previous attempts at diplomacy with Mr Putin were "a charade".

A curfew has been imposed in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv until Monday morning as Russian forces close in, and there has been fighting near several other cities.

During a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday evening, Mr Johnson paid tribute to the "incredible heroism and bravery" of Mr Zelensky and his people, Downing Street said.

They expressed concern for the role Belarus was playing in the violence and agreed on the need for "the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially".

In a tweet Mr Zelensky said he was grateful to Mr Johnson and said they had agreed on further steps to "counter the aggressor".

Excluding Russia from Swift would not stop its banks sending and receiving cross-border payments, but it would make the process much more difficult and expensive.

So far, sanctions have included freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as well as halting Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Ukrainian servicemen take positions at the military airbase Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region


Mr Johnson also said that "of course" the UK would take Ukrainian refugees, saying the country had a "historic and proud role of taking refugees from all conflicts".

It comes after some criticism from opposition MPs that the government had continued to apply the existing rules for Ukrainians seeking to come to the country. Mr Johnson suggested that there was "fake news" on the internet about the government's willingness to help refugees.

Immigration minister Kevin Foster was criticised on social media after writing, in a later deleted tweet, that there were a number of routes to the UK which Ukrainians could qualify for, "not least our seasonal worker scheme".

The prime minister also said that it was "inconceivable" to imagine that normal sporting relations could continue with "Putin's Russia" after Poland and Sweden refused play world cup play-off fixtures with Russia.

It comes after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich handed over "stewardship" of the football club to the trustees of its charitable foundation.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×