Britain can train Ukraine’s forces, Boris Johnson says on surprise Kyiv visit

The United Kingdom will offer Ukrainian forces a major training programme, Downing Street has confirmed after Boris Johnson met with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier today.

Mr Johnson said the UK could facilitate a training scheme with the capacity to train as many as 10,000 soldiers every 120 days, using battle-proven British Army expertise.

If the offer were to be accepted by Ukraine, international partners would also be invited to host the programme.

Mr Johnson said: “My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail. As Ukrainian soldiers fire UK missiles in defence of your nation’s sovereignty, they do so also in defence of the very freedoms we take for granted.

“That is why I have offered President Zelensky a major new military training programme that could change the equation of this war – harnessing that most powerful of forces, the Ukrainian determination to win. Two months on from my last visit, the Ukrainian grit, determination and resilience is stronger than ever, and I know that unbreakable resolve will long outlive the vain ambitions of President Putin.”