Boris Johnson visits Ukraine's southern front, criticizes Western lack of support

Prefer on Google by The Kyiv Independent news desk Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Ukraine's 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, which is operating near the city of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. (Boris Johnson/X) Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson made his first visit to the front lines in southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, publishing a front-line dispatch from Ukraine on April 11. In his Daily Mail article, Johnson describes the harsh realities faced by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, while also criticizing Western partners for their lack of support for Ukraine. Johnson visited Ukraine's 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade, which is operating near the city of Huliaipole. "Welcome to the kill zone, and welcome back to the war the west is in danger of forgetting," Johnson said . In office between 2019 and 2022, Johnson was one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine at the onset of the full-scale invasion, visiting the country several times during the war. The ex-prime minister said he chose this sector for his visit since he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin "is so desperately trying and failing" to capture Zaporizhzhia , an industrial city that is home to around one million Ukrainians. Since February, Ukrainian forces have retaken the initiative on the southern front line, counterattacking through the eastern reaches of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, where Russia made the fastest gains in the closing months of 2025. "The real question is not whether Putin can capture all of Ukraine — because he can't — but whether we are doing enough to help the Ukrainians to push him back, and force him to the negotiating table," Johnson wrote in his article. "We are right to say that the Ukrainians are fighting for all of us – so why the hell are we still short-changing them?"