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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told visiting former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Ukraine can win the war against Russia this year.
During a meeting with students and faculty of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine, Zelensky said Ukrainians need to remain united and strong to win the war.
“The speed (of ending the war – ed.) depends on several things: strength inside Ukraine and strength from the outside – the help of partners. And we must not allow the processes to slow down either outside or inside, as it will prolong the war,” Zelensky said, according to Ukraine’s presidential office website.
The Ukrainian president also rejected claims that their victory was optional or that a partial Ukrainian victory was enough.
Zelensky said they “will definitely regain everything,” adding that he sees Ukraine as a future member-state of the European Union and a partner of NATO.
For his part, Johnson said that the U.K., as a “friend” of Ukraine, will help them “end this war as soon as possible in 2023.”
Johnson said that winning the war would be “the best thing for Ukraine” and for the Russian people.
The former U.K. Conservative Party leader added that Ukraine must be provided with “better” weapons to “enable” its people to defend the country.
Johnson said providing the Ukrainian military with modern weapons is not an act of escalation, arguing that Russia is the “most advanced modern aircraft to bomb residential areas.”
Since the war began almost a year ago, the U.K. has provided Ukraine with $2.8 billion worth of military aid.
The U.K. also provided Ukraine with Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems and Advanced Medium Range Anti-Air Missiles to defend the country’s airspace.
The British government sent more than 200 armored vehicles and 100 logistic vehicles to Ukraine as well, according to its official website.
The two leaders’ meeting came after senior Biden administration officials advised Ukraine to hold off on carrying out a major offensive against Russia, Reuters reported.
A senior U.S. official who spoke to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity said a Ukrainian offensive would be more effective once the latest American military aid arrived in the country and Ukrainian forces underwent training.
The official said Ukraine had utilized most of its resources to defend the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, but it is highly possible that Russian forces would take the territory.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby echoed the official’s remark, telling reporters at the daily White House briefing Friday that a Russian victory in Bakhmut would not result in a significant shift in the war and that Russians are “pouring, just literally throwing bodies into a meat grinder” to capture the city.
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