UK Premier Reportedly Pressured Ukraine’s Zelensky To Quit Peace Talks With Russia

The Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda reported May 5 that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his surprise visit to Kyiv last month to pressure Volodymyr Zelensky to cut off peace negotiations with Russia, even after the two sides appeared to have made tenuous progress toward a settlement to end the war.

Citing unnamed sources from Zelensky’s “inner circle” and advisory team, Pravda reported that “Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv”:

“The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over,” is how one of Zelensky’s close associates summed up the essence of Johnson’s visit…