UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed support for Ukraine on Thursday and said he hopes the country can withstand a Russian military operation that started on the same day in Donbass.
Johnson said that “he was appalled by the unfolding events” and “hoped Ukraine could resist,” a readout of the conversation said.
Ukrainians were “in the thoughts of everyone in the United Kingdom… during this dark time,” the prime minister said, according to the statement.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered a special military operation against Ukrainian forces. He said it was necessary to protect people in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which Russia recognized as independent states earlier this week, from Ukrainian attacks.
Britain had earlier supplied Kiev with advanced weapons and military equipment, saying the shipments would help Ukrainians to defend themselves against Russia.
Moscow said the shipments had added to the mountain of evidence that Western nations backing Ukraine wanted to militarize it and use it against Russia. The stated goal of the Russian operation is to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” the country, Putin said.