Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky hails Boris Johnson’s ‘bravery and principles’ after farewell phone call

UKRAINE President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Boris Johnson’s “bravery and principles” after a farewell phone call yesterday.

The leader heaped praise on the outgoing PM for standing up to Russia’s aggression.

It came as Britain vowed to keep training and arming Ukraine’s armed forces as long as help was needed.

Mr Zelensky said on Twitter: “On behalf of all Ukrainian people, I thanked him for his personal bravery, principles and a major contribution to countering the Russian Federation’s aggression.”

Mr Johnson made three trips to Kyiv after Putin launched his invasion — more than any other world leader — and played a key role in rallying international support.

Mr Zelensky said he had been a “great friend of Ukraine” and he looked forward to working with him in a “new status” in future.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Mr Johnson’s “enduring support for Ukraine” was key to Britain’s leading role providing game-changing weapons and training.

Mr Wallace claimed Russia has haemorrhaged some 80,000 soldiers either killed, captured, injured or deserted since Putin invaded in February.

Ukraine had blitzed some 350 Russian bases, including command posts, ammo dumps, and supply dumps with the help of British and western long-range weapons.