Both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have said that the world needs to step up and be ready to offer its support in the long run. In a scathing interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the NATO leader said: “We have to prepare for the fact that it may take years. “We must not give up our support for Ukraine. Even if the costs are high, not only because of military support but also because of rising energy and food prices.” Mr Johnson, who visited Kyiv on Friday, made similar comments in an article in The Sunday Times, writing: grind. destroyed Ukraine with sheer barbarism. “The United Kingdom and our friends must respond by ensuring that Ukraine has the strategic stamina to survive and ultimately prevail.” Describing time as the “vital factor”, Mr Johnson added: “Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its territory faster than Russia can renew its capacity. to attack. “Our task is to spend time on the side of Ukraine.” This, he wrote, meant that “Ukraine receives weapons, equipment, ammunition and training faster than the invader.” Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mr Johnson had stressed the need to avoid “Ukraine fatigue”. He warned: “Our concern is that a little bit of fatigue in Ukraine is starting to appear all over the world. “It is important to show that we are with them for a long time and to provide the strategic resilience they need.” Image: Boris Johnson met for the second time with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Twitter image: @ 10DowningStreet Other key developments in Ukraine: • Severodonetsk, the primary target of Moscow’s attack on full control of the eastern Luhansk region, was again under heavy artillery and rockets. • Serhiy Gaidai, Luhansk governor In Metolkine, with the Russian news agency TASS claiming that several Ukrainian fighters had been delivered there. The UK also said it could send more troops to Estonia and lead a brigade there – further evidence of long-term planning in the region. Establishing brigades – units of about 3,000 to 5,000 troops each – would significantly boost NATO’s presence in the Baltic – three former Soviet republics considered most vulnerable to Russian aggression following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Image: President Zelenskyy photographed with members of Ukraine on a surprise visit to the southern front Meanwhile, in his night speech to his nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained provocative. He said he had visited troops on the southern front in the Mykolaiv region, about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south of the capital Kiev. “I spoke to our defenders – the army, the police, the National Guard,” he said. “Their mood is guaranteed: not everyone doubts our victory. We will not give the south to anyone and we will take back what is ours.”
