Former PM meets ex-president as he confirms JD Vance, a vocal critic of support for Kyiv, as his running mate

By Rozina Sabur,  DEPUTY US EDITOR, IN MILWAUKEE

andGordon Rayner,  ASSOCIATE EDITOR

July 16, 2024

Boris Johnson urged Donald Trump to back Ukraine in a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention.

It comes after Mr Trump picked as his running mate JD Vance, an Ohio senator and vocal critic of support for Ukraine.

The former prime minister, who enjoys warm relations with his former counterpart, shared an image of himself posing with Trump on Tuesday.

Mr Johnson said: “Great to meet president Trump who is on top form after the shameful attempt on his life.

“We discussed Ukraine and I have no doubt that he will be strong and decisive in supporting that country and defending democracy.”

Johnson a fierce advocate for Kyiv support

Mr Johnson has been a fierce advocate for supporting Kyiv and has repeatedly called on the West to bolster its supply of weapons to the country since the Russian invasion in 2022.

He has made the case that America’s investment in Ukraine’s defences represents value for money, compared with the cost of countering an emboldened Moscow.

In particular, he has argued that Trump, whom he has endorsed in November’s US election, would not want to begin a second term by presiding over Russia’s victory in Ukraine.

“If you are the party of Ronald Reagan, if you want to make America great again, then you don’t begin a new Republican presidency… by conceding victory to Vladimir Putin,” he said earlier this year.

However, those arguments face an increasingly difficult audience among Trump and his Republican allies in Congress, who have argued Europe should be shouldering the burden of the cost.

Mr Vance, who has been a fierce opponent of US funding for Kyiv, is likely to only harden that stance.

Mr Johnson’s meeting with Trump comes days after the former president, 78, survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The Republican presidential nominee can be seen sporting a bandage over his right ear, which was grazed by a bullet, in the photo Mr Johnson shared on his social media.

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Russian army chief thanks forces for capturing another key eastern village 

16 July 2024 •

The chief of Russia’s general staff General Valery Gerasimov has thanked Russian forces for recapturing the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s battered east.

The alleged victory, if confirmed, would be the latest in a series of costly gains made by Moscow’s troops in the Donetsk region following the fall of the strategic hilltop city of Chasiv Yar earlier this month after a months-long bombardment.

General Gerasimov, who visited the warzone on Tuesday to hand out medals, then set new targets for his troops in the region, Russia’s defence ministry said without providing further details.

Moscow had claimed on Sunday its troops had seized control of Urozhaine, which had been liberated by Ukraine last July in its summer counteroffensive. Ukrainian bloggers reported that Kyiv’s forces had relinquished control of the village, but heavy fighting was ongoing in the area.

Ukraine is yet to officially comment on Russia’s claims, but on Sunday reported 18 different attacks on Urozhaine and nearby settlements.

It comes as Ukraine’s navy said that Russia has withdrawn its last naval patrol ship from occupied Crimea, a major victory for Kyiv in its sustained military campaign against the Black Sea peninsula.

“The last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is bolting from our Crimea just now. Remember this day,” Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said.

Meanwhile, president Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his calls for more F-16s and Patriot missile systems to defend Ukraine’s skies, while the Pentagon issued a fresh warning against Kyiv using US-supplied Atacms long-range missiles to launch strikes inside Russia.