Russian President Vladimir Putin is like a crocodile chewing on Ukraine’s leg, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Thursday, while traveling to India. He said that he didn’t see how Kiev could possibly negotiate with Russia, and added that the West would keep sending artillery and other weapons to Ukraine.
“It’s very hard to see how the Ukrainians can negotiate with Putin, given his manifest lack of good faith and his strategy, which is evident, to try to engulf and capture as much of Ukraine as he can and then perhaps to have some sort of negotiation from a position of strength – or even launch another assault on Kiev,” Johnson said.
While he doesn’t see how Putin can be a “valid interlocutor,” Johnson said this was something for the Ukrainians to decide. Meanwhile, the UK and its NATO allies will continue to provide Kiev with money and weapons.
The consensus of G7 leaders on Ukraine is to “keep supplying them with the things they need to help them defend themselves, particularly with artillery,” Johnson said.