After the recent horror pictures from Ukraine, European politicians are demonstratively showing solidarity with Kyiv. British Prime Minister Johnson unexpectedly arrived in the war country. Austria also wants to help.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson surprisingly traveled to Kyiv and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there. This was announced by both the British and the Ukrainian side.
“One-to-one talks with President Zelenskyy have just started,” wrote the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Sybiha, on Facebook. He also published a photo showing the two politicians sitting opposite each other at a table. Earlier in the day, Zelenskyi received Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
“Sign of Solidarity”
“The Prime Minister has traveled to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky in person as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” a British government spokesman said. The two wanted to discuss Britain’s long-term support for Ukraine. Johnson wants to present a new package of financial and military aid.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also posted a photo of Johnson and Zelenskyy on Twitter. Zelenskyy called Britain a “leader in defense support to Ukraine”.
During a visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, the British Prime Minister announced that he would send further weapons worth £100 million (equivalent to around 120 million euros) to Ukraine. These included Starstreak surface-to-air missiles.
Ukraine was attacked by neighboring Russia more than six weeks ago. Kyiv is supported by the West with arms deliveries. Anti-tank weapons come primarily from Great Britain. However, the Ukrainian leadership is interested in heavy engineering and, above all, anti-aircraft systems.
Chancellor Nehammer also announces support
Austria wants to support Ukraine in the fight against Russia with rescue and fire engines. Chancellor Nehammer announced this after talks with Selenskyj in Kyiv. Nehammer underlined that the war triggered by Russia was completely unacceptable for Austria. “We are militarily neutral, but not when it comes to naming crimes and when it comes to going where injustice is actually happening.” Austria is not a member of NATO.
Nehammer had already demanded on arrival that the war crimes that became known after Russia’s attack on Ukraine had to be fully investigated by independent and international experts. “It’s a wonderful signal that the leaders of European countries are starting to come here and not just supporting us with words,” said Zelenskyy. In addition, Austria will reopen its embassy in Kyiv.
So far, Austria has supplied 10,000 helmets and 9,000 protective vests for civilian use. At the same time, like Germany, it is one of the EU countries that currently refuse to stop deliveries of Russian gas. Austria gets 80 percent of its gas from Russia. After some hesitation, Vienna recently expelled four Russian diplomats from the country.
Since the beginning of the war, almost 4.5 million of around 44 million Ukrainians have left their homeland. Around 51,000 refugees have been registered in Austria so far, mostly women with children.
Source: Stern
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