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Boris Johnson has claimed Ukraine is just “days away” from signing a deal to cede control of its rare earth minerals to the US as part of a process to end the war with Russia.
The former prime minister on Monday said he “remains convinced that Ukraine will have a great future as a free sovereign and independent nation”.
Mr Johnson, who is in Kyiv for the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said the deal was “a very interesting development” which would commit the US to future financing of Ukraine and ensure the country remains a free and sovereign nation.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has previously rejected the deal, thought to be worth around $500 billion (£400 billion), and said on Sunday he would not “sign something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay”.
Mr Johnson added that he salutes “the continuing heroism of the Ukrainian people in resisting a vile act of unprovoked aggression”.
And, without criticising Mr Trump directly, he said he “categorically rejects the bizarre untruths currently being peddled about the origins of that war” – a reference to the US president’s claim that Mr Zelensky started it.
“I urge people to keep cool and look at the facts of the continuing US support for Ukraine, under Donald Trump, and I remain convinced that Ukraine will have a great future as a free sovereign and independent nation,” Mr Johnson added.
But Labour MP David Taylor, who on Sunday returned from a week-long visit to Ukraine, where he met ministers, officials and troops, said Mr Johnson’s “attitude that ‘everything will be OK in the end’ is misguided and frankly dangerous”.
He told The Independent: “The cold hard truth is without a major ramping up of military and tech support from the US, Europe, and the UK, Kyiv will fall.
“I remain convinced that Putin will not stop at Ukraine, we will be next. The tyrant Putin will use ceasefire discussions to stall so he can regroup. We are at a tipping point, the Western world must step up for Ukraine now.”
Mr Johnson has previously said Mr Trump is only seeking to “shock European nations into action” by accusing Mr Zelensky of being a dictator and wrongly claiming Ukraine started the war.
Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden told The Independent: “Boris Johnson’s bizarre statement flies in the face of everything we’ve seen in the last seven days: how can he celebrate Trump’s continuing support for Ukraine less than a week after the president referred to his Ukrainian counterpart as a dictator.
“The past week has told us everything we need to know about Trump’s views on Ukraine. Denying that reality helps no one, especially not the Ukrainians. Now, more than ever, we must stand firmly in support of our Ukrainian friends, resist Trump’s alarming attempts at a stitch-up with Putin and work with our European neighbours to defend freedom and democracy.”
Mr Johnson won hero-like status in Ukraine for his strong backing of the country in the wake of Putin’s 2022 invasion.
But he has since been criticised for his seemingly apologetic stance towards Mr Trump, whose remarks in recent weeks have been condemned across the political spectrum.
No 10 denied Sir Keir thinks it unhelpful that Mr Johnson is in Ukraine to mark three years since Russia’s invasion.
The PM’s official spokesman said “no” when asked if he thought his predecessor’s presence in Kyiv was unhelpful.
“The Prime Minister welcomes anyone’s efforts to support the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian president in reaching a sustainable peace,” he said.
But No 10 said it did not have any details of Mr Johnson’s engagements when asked if he was getting Foreign Office support for the visit or “freelancing”.
Downing Street has said Sir Keir spoke to Mr Zelensky on the phone to reaffirm his support for the Ukrainian as the country’s “democratically elected leader”.
And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch defended Mr Zelensky while condemning “Putin’s illegal invasion”.
