Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on European leaders not to interpret Donald Trump’s inflammatory remarks about Ukraine literally, but rather as an attempt to push them into action rather than as a statement of historical fact.
In a Tuesday night press conference, Trump accused Ukraine of waging its own war against Russia and demanded new elections in Kyiv. He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “grossly incompetent” and falsely stated his approval rating was only 4%.
Johnson, who is also a strong supporter of Ukraine and has previously commended Trump, defended the US president on Wednesday. On X, he downplayed Trump’s allegations but claimed they were meant to be a tactical measure to spur Europe into more engagement.
Of course Ukraine didn’t initiate the war no more than America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor,” Johnson wrote. “And of course, an invaded country shouldn’t be conducting elections. There wasn’t a general election in Britain between 1935 and 1945.” He also added that Zelenskyy’s approval ratings were on par with Trump’s.
Johnson also emphasized that America has located roughly $300 billion worth of blocked Russian funds, the majority held in Belgium, that can be employed to benefit Ukraine and offset Washington’s financial contributions. Johnson has accused countries such as France and Belgium of frustrating attempts at freeing up this money.
“Does Europe hold it up preventing unfreezing Putin’s cash?” he queried. “Crazy. Get real and urgently.
Since stepping down as president in 2022, Johnson has not only worked vocally to generate Republican backing for Ukraine but last week also shared a meal with Trump to deliberate on the conflict. He recently denounced European leaders for their “headless chicken-ism” regarding Russia-US diplomacy, calling upon them to “man up and step up” in meeting the crisis.
