The British Prime Minister has reportedly spoken to officials for an assessment of the logistics of a trip to Kyiv and its practicality in order to have talks with the Ukrainian President. On Sunday, it was declared by UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi that a total of ten million people have fled Ukraine.
It has been reported that security officials are “having kittens” over the PM’s proposed trip to the war zone that continues to be shelled leaving many dead and destroying huge swathes of the city.
Despite the concerns of security officials, a source in Whitehall has said that if Mr Johnson is adamant to visit the besieged capital, the logistics can be ironed out.
The source stated: “If you set aside the security concerns, which are considerable, the question is whether there is anything additional you could achieve by visiting in person, or whether it would just be a show of solidarity, and whether that is a sufficient goal in itself.”
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Boris Johnson said: “I have a very, very strong desire to support him [Zelensky] in any way I can.
“Whether that would be a useful way of showing my support I don’t know, but it is of huge strategic, political, economic, moral importance for Putin to fail and Zelensky to succeed.”
President Biden is due to visit Europe for a snap meeting in Brussels of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) along with a session of the European Council and a G7 meeting.
The President is due to leave Washington on Wednesday and it is said he could add another stop in Eastern Europe, most likely Poland.
The trip will display the Western allies in solidarity with Ukraine, but White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki confirmed on Sunday that the President will not be visiting Ukraine.
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On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell featured on CBS’ ‘Faces the Nation’ and stated that the President should travel as near to Ukraine as possible.
He said: “What I’d like to see the President do is to reassure our Eastern Bloc allies.
“It’s fine to go to Brussels. It’s fine to go to Berlin, and I’d like to see him go to Romania or Poland or to the Baltics.
“They’re right on the front lines and need to know that we’re in this fight with them to win.”
The ongoing fighting in Kyiv and sudden attacks, such as the explosion last night in the city’s Podil district, mean it is difficult to determine and guarantee the safety of both the Prime Minister and President Biden if the politicians choose to visit.