Boris Johnson Unveils Six-Point Plan To Stop Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine

Boris Johnson has said he will promote a six-point plan to defeat Russia in Ukraine, as he warns that 'Putin's war must fail.'

The UK prime minister is understood to speak almost daily with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who considers the UK his country's closest ally but admitted he felt the west had not done enough for Ukraine, saying the world had 'failed to learn the lessons of Russian aggression.'

In an article written for the New York Times, Johnson praised the massive rush of military and humanitarian aid sent to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion and the overwhelming support of the international community for Ukraine and in enforcing severe economic sanctions on Russia, but outlined more steps he believed would be necessary to 'actively defend' the 'rules-based international order.'

Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Alamy)

Firstly, the prime minister called for an 'international humanitarian coalition' to provide aid and refuge for Ukrainians, noting that countries must work together to ensure civilians could be evacuated and that essential goods like food and medical supplies could reach Ukraine's cities.

In addition, he called for western countries to continue to ramp up shipments of arms to Ukraine, as well as to 'maximise the economic pressure' on Russia. Johnson called for 'all Russian banks' to be removed from the SWIFT payment system, and for more oligarchs to be targeted, but warned that sanctions would be 'insufficient unless Europe begins to wean itself off the Russian oil and gas that bankroll Mr. Putin’s war machine.'

Aside from practical actions that could be taken immediately to assist the Ukrainian defence and cripple the Russian economy, Johnson also called on western allies to maintain diplomatic solidarity with Ukraine and avoid any 'creeping normalisation' of Russia's presence in the country, while also ramping up NATO-led security in other countries in the region.

Johnson at airbase shipping arms to Ukraine (Alamy)

Pointing to Russia's recent history of invading and seizing parts of Ukraine, Georgia and other places without suffering permanent international reputational damage, Johnson urged: 'we cannot allow the Kremlin to bite off chunks of an independent country and inflict immense human suffering and then creep back into the fold,' but stressed that channels must always be kept open for 'diplomacy and de-escalation.'

'Ukrainians have bravely defended their country. It is their valor that has united the international community. We can’t let them down,' he concluded.

If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information