Ukrainian response indication of Putin’s 'disastrous miscalculation': UK premier

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cited Kyiv’s resistance to Moscow’s war on Tuesday as evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “disastrous miscalculation.”

In a news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Eastern Europe, the UK premier praised the Ukrainian people for standing up to the Russians and urged the international community to be united in its rejection of Putin’s military operation.

“A few short days ago we all stood witness to scenes we hoped we would never see again on the continent of Europe; a sovereign, democratic people fighting for their lives against a foe who wishes to subjugate them by force. As we realize the terrible extent of President Putin’s ambitions, the world has been rightly united in praise of the valor and bravery of the Ukrainian people,” said Johnson. “It is clearer day by day from the way the Ukrainians are responding, that President Putin has made a disastrous miscalculation. His troops have not been welcomed into Ukraine as he prophesied and instead the Ukrainians have mounted an astonishing and tenacious resistance.”

Johnson reminded the international community of its responsibility in aiding and assisting the Ukrainian people in their struggle against the Russian operations including its humanitarian support for Ukrainians fleeing the country, refugees seeking shelter in host countries and supplying the Ukrainian armed forces with equipment to resist Russian attacks.

The prime minister used his country as an example of such military and humanitarian assistance, reminding his audience that the British military trained 22,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces and provided more than £140 million ($156 million) in humanitarian aid to the embattled country and the region.

"We as the international community have the responsibility to do everything we can to help the Ukrainians in their efforts and that’s why the UK has trained 22,000 members and why we have provided further defensive military support to Ukraine."

Johnson said his government’s implementation of its largest and wide-ranging sanctions regime against Moscow -- which targets Russian banks, business people, members of the Russian government and other entities -- has made it clear that Putin and his regime must be isolated from the international community for his egregious actions in Ukraine.

- UK will not commit troops to Ukraine to combat Russia

The British prime minister made clear that his government will not deploy troops to Ukraine to combat Russian troops as London is not seeking a war with Moscow and troop deployments in NATO member states in Eastern Europe is a defensive measure.

“As we support Ukraine, we must also shore up our shared resilience, both to protect our people and our values. These are nothing more than defensive measures which have been the essence of NATO for more than 70 years,” he said. “And I want to be crystal clear, finally on that point. We will not fight Russian forces in Ukraine and our reinforcements like these reinforcements here in Tapa (Estonia) are firmly within the borders of NATO members and they are profoundly the right thing to do.”

The prime minister also dismissed the idea of a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine, arguing that such a move would further escalate tensions and could widen the scope of the conflict beyond Ukraine that would be disastrous, not just for Europe, but for the world at large.

"This is a time when miscalculation and misunderstanding is all too possible. We have to accept the reality that involves shooting down Russian planes. That's a very, very big step. It is simply not on the agenda of any NATO country,” said Johnson.

Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began last Thursday, has been met by an outcry from the international community with the EU, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against the Kremlin.

Entering a sixth day, Russian forces have continued their attacks on multiple cities across Ukraine.​​​​​​​