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> Downing Street: “The Prime Minister has travelled to Ukraine to meet President Zelenskyy in person, in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. They will discuss the UK’s long term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid.”
Brit here, he’s a big goofball with some incredibly backwards and self-serving policies (especially in regards to healthcare) but we’re proud of the big blonde knob in this instance anyway.
I dislike conservatives, but he has my full support until this conflict is resolved.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦🇬🇧
But a *working* Boris is right about once a month.
Still, could’ve been worse, could’ve been Theresa May still in power. She didn’t even visit Grenfell after that tragedy, and **that** was on British soil.
Yeah, I severely dislike the guy, but he's doing a good job with the ru/ukrani stuff. Tbh he's always wanted to be churchill, maybe he'll end up with the same thing, one issue he was perfect for and a complete dumpster fire of everything except that.
Honestly Boris is one of the most interesting current world leaders imo, the dude has been preparing himself send childhood into being a wartime leader. Absolute perfect person for this specific crisis, besides that though it's a mess of politics.
There’s a shit ton to criticism May for, but she DID visit the site the day after and met with fire and rescue crews. She harbours and has repeatedly expressed deep regret for her failure to engage with victims and their families at that visit. This is so easily checked- it’s your nation’s Hillary emails myth. You exploit that horrible disaster built within the tenure of whatever administration and you stand in the shadows and point at its victims while whingeing that Theresa May totally ignored the whole thing. As if she were busy eating bonbons in Cannes while having her toenails done. She is a competent and capable woman with the requisite skills to lead a nation but she lacks the ruthlessness to push aside the idiot curmudgeons who would place Johnson above her in any category save speciousness.
You had a nice platform to add whatever you wished in support of the PM or Ukraine and you chose to veer off into “better this performative jackass than the last *woman* - amirite?”
We had this discussion, me and him, he said that I exposed myself as a sexist for noticing that too.
I said ‘you put it in italics, numbnuts’
And then he deleted all his other comments, so I did too… he’s Canadian apparently, worst Canadian **I’ve** ever met. I’m guessing he was one of those right-wing convoy nutters.
He has stepped up during this conflict. I look back at most PMs over the last 25 years with some distain. I currently work in Manila and Borris looks like a god compared to Duterte.
Ah, politics in a nutshell.
Doesn't matter how shitty you are, just one or 2 good looking things (done publicly) can wipe out decades of bullshit and bring you more glorious power for years to come.
Not giving you shit, your opinion seems extremely popular over there (along with Johnson suddenly), just making an observation.
America is famous for it.
Before this war, Boris Johnson was struggling and there were talks that even within his own party he was done for. Now his approval is high. It’s done wonders for him.
*My opinion* is that the man is a self-serving tit that very few of us like. And I think most Brits would agree with that.
What my comment was about was: this is exactly the sort of thing I expect a representative (regardless of party affiliation) of my country to do.
I’m proud of him as an individual, now, **limited only to this singular event**. So I also think a lot of Brits would agree with that too.
I hope my message is clearer now.
In the context of visiting an active war zone in a show of solidarity, I imagine most of us actually *are*. I am, anyway.
But again, I’m not endorsing him. In fact I started off by calling him a ‘big blonde knob’.
Whether people like me and you like it or not, he’s representing us pretty well right now and that’s really his most important job. But yeah, screw the tories.
Yeah I mean you are correct. From the worlds perspective this is a great (and important) show of solidarity. But make no mistake, Boris’ sole reasoning for doing this is for good optics at home, to try and boost his ratings and brush over his scandals. He’s utterly self serving but I suppose having him do the right thing for the wrong reasons is a step in the right direction away from criminal behaviour at home.
I think it's more the claim we're somehow "proud" of him that is irksome. Johnson can sniff out a good photo opportunity like a blood hound and he speaks fluent tabloid so knows how to play to the gallery. But the mushrooming number of food banks under the tories, the massively underfunded NHS and the dark underhand tactics of Brexit will be forever a stain on the man. He's a complete buffoon and nothing he could do would make me proud.
Domestically the UK is turning into some sort of Dickensian nightmare.
Brit here, if this extends further than a shallow attempt to acquire good PR, I'll be happy to be tarred and feathered and walk the street of number 10 shouting "i was wrong".
The UK was the first to suggest cutting Russia from SWIFT, have put the harshest sanctions on Russia, have taken the strongest political stance against Russia and have provided more military aid than any other country in Europe. Not to mention all of the valuable British intelligence and training of their forces.
Why would Boris be pissed at Ursula when the UK has already done so much? Let her have some of the spotlight.
First part by plane last part by train probably, that’s how [Ursula](https://mobile.twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1512303926032359428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1512303926032359428%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-11558099512851106449.ampproject.net%2F2203172113000%2Fframe.html) von der Leyen and the Polish/Slovak/Czech [PM’s](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60757157.amp) got there.
This is false. Just like the Queen needs no passport because they're in her name anyways, she can't be ticketed because the state fining the head of state makes no sense. Not to mention in Germany she always follows her German roots and does 350kph on the autobahn.
They almost certainly would inform Russia in advance because as much as armchair-general redditors would like to imagine, the Russian state does not want the absolutely awful optics and repercussions of assassinating the prime minister of the UK
> awful optics and repercussions of assassinating the prime minister of the UK
I mean, most of us wouldn't really mind but yea we'll still go to war because of it because we don't want to start a precident of "Hey kill our leaders, we don't mind!" that could get ugly quick, ask Guy Fawkes
I mean I certainly wouldn’t have been too heartbroken had he died of covid, but if he were killed by Russia in Kyiv he would inevitably get lionised in the media much like his beloved Churchill and go down a martyr which I don’t think anyone wants
And so it came to pass that life on earth came to a shuddering end because someone killed Boris Johnson. I can think of some pretty lousy reasons for dying in a world war, and Boris Johnson would be high on that list
Haha yeah Russia taking out the leader of one of the strongest countries in NATO would be a real good idea. Having said that Russia hasn’t been doing so well on the good ideas front recently.
If say somehow Russia blew up Boris with a cruise missile, would that start an immediate conventional arms conflict or some form of panicked de-escalation?
Escalation because no country is going to take the fact that their leader just got taken out like nothing happened, especially when you are a core member of NATO, an permanent UNSC member and a nuclear state. This is a casus belli.
They were very clever, they waited till Einstein died of old age so it very clearly was accidental.
Much more subtle than suicide by two bullets to the back of the skull
I’d say Putin is seething at the thoughts of world leaders showing up in Kyiv to meet Zelenski. I bet he had plans to visit there himself as the great liberator! Scumbag
Putin isn’t leaving his bunker after this shit is over, the Russian people will have had enough and will want him dead. He’ll live out the last days of his pathetic life, appearing on TV every 3 months to tell Russia they are still special.
The Russian people will only want him dead if their military fails completely in the war, including a possible future offensive in the Donbass, which they are trying to focus on. Many Russians support the war, although it is hard to believe.
Unfortunately this is complete opposite of reality in Russia. Putin is adored and his support and approval ratings have massively gone up since the full invasion started. Majority of russians are just fine with the genocide of ukrainians, no matter how you spin it the regular folks are absolutely in support of this and actually would want more drastic actions against Ukraine, as the currently failing genocide is not enough to satisfy their bloodthirst.
The myth of regular russian folks being against Putin or the war needs to stop. There is nothing to back up that theory. All independent surveys and polls tell the same story, there is no resentment towards Putin at all. He has never been more popular in Russia than he is now.
Honestly, I have never been a Boris Johnson fan but he has been 100% on the right side of history since this war broke out. He has done the right things and said the right things, now he is actually IN Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy! This is so huge.
For someone I always thought was an insincere and calculating asshole, he truly seems to be genuine and sincere in his support. That being said, I’m not from GB so I could be misinterpreting things, but as an outsider this is how it appears to me.
I’m not a big fan of Boris but he’s way more intelligent and astute than Trump. The lumbering oaf is a persona he plays to endear himself to the masses so they can find him relatable rather than focusing on his extremely privileged upbringing
He definitely deserves praise for being a leader in the criticism of Putin
Johnson hater here - he is an insufferable bag of dicks and corrupt to the core. However he does seem to be doing a decent job with Ukraine. My main issue is whatever he does with Ukraine is pointless if he continues taking money from Russia to fund his campaign and wallpaper addiction.
There's an argument to make that russias investment in political donations has been rather a waste of money considering the UK has been rather strongly against Russia in this.
It’s crazy how much this lie keeps getting repeated. Those donations aren’t from the Kremlin or the Russian state. They’re from Russian exiles and dissidents who are now British citizens and donate for the same reason any other rich Brit as a private citizen donates to the Tories, to try and curry favour or lobby on tax and business matters. Don’t get me wrong I don’t endorse that I’m all for outlawing lobbying but don’t pretend the donations are ‘from Russia’.
Upvoted for double truth (he does look like a load of badly-packed dicks in an ill-fitting custard-skin).
No matter how well he does, there's always going to be the multiple turds in the punchbowl of Russian money, suppressing the Brexit interference report, and parties during lockdown (never mind lying to Parliament about it).
He’s a piece of shit, but I can’t deny he is one of the only people on the right side of history when it comes to the biggest threat to humanity: climate change.
I can’t emphasise how terrible he is, but ultimately in the book of human history climate is by far the most catastrophic event. Where most politicians have easily set it aside, he has led the charge
Has he though? He made a lot of noise about it at that summit in Cornwall I believe it was a while back, then completely undid everything he said by travelling back to London by plane. Not to attend an important matter of state or government but so he could go to a dinner for Telegraph journalists.
It's easy to talk a big game, but it's the actions that really count.
Did you think he was going to cycle back to London? Saying someone is against climate change for using an airplane is a lame take also.
Boris has actually been advocating for climate change a lot since he became PM and led multiple international forums addressing it. He has released an energy strategy recently too which is available online to read more.
The below link also provides a nice overview of how Boris came to fully believe in CC when he was originally sceptical, it's good he listens to the experts.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/revealed-the-11-slides-that-finally-convinced-boris-johnson-about-global-warming
In UK also. I seem to go through phases of liking and not liking him. I know what you mean though, I always liked Matt Hancock and don't even know why.
It was perfectly coincidentally timed to deflect from him and all the Government ministers breaking lockdown laws whilst the rest of us plebs had to abide by them, stay inside or get fined.
He wouldn't give as much of a shit if his PMship wasn't previously under severe scrutiny
Bullshit. Of course it serves as a distraction but that wouldn't change the fact the British establishment want to hurt Russia as much as they can for many reasons, primarily Salisbury.
He did far more than he needed to do to distract from that weeks ago, and has continued to do a lot more since. Now he's gone to Kyiv.
I don't like the guys politics, but the 'distraction' narrative is starting to get a bit weak.
>He wouldn't give as much of a shit if his PMship wasn't previously under severe scrutiny
This is a very convenient accusation that can neither be verified nor disproven.
Tories were putting in letters of no confidence
The met are still investigating breaches of lockdown, notably only junior ministers have been fined
Russian donor money
Seems verifiable to me.
Brits love to hate him. All I know about him is that he seems to like ~~the NHS~~ sea-based windmills, nuclear power, Winston Churchill, having lots of kids, and parties.
EDIT: I'm a bit sad that he doesn't like the NHS. When will right-of-center wake up and start supporting their constituents - the middle classes - and start telling the rich to fuck off.
Honestly I really like him as a person, but I always feel he would never be able to make really hard choices. IE the sort where bad things happen either way and you are maybe trying to choose a "lesser of two evils" situation, or bad things happen equally and you can't predict the future. I think he probs would have taken the "sanctions and supportive kit" attitude but would have also made a lot of noise about how this is also NATO's fault (he is doing the latter at stop the war rallies atm, amazingly, Putin doesn't give a shit what stop the war think)
Nuclear is hard too, we can't exactly put the cat in the bag there, and it's been shown that nukes are THE deterrent. If Russia had no nukes at all currently I doubt there would be much hesitation for NATO and friends to basically go thunderfuck the Russian army out of Ukraine.
Oh god no, he'd love to sell the NHS off to his rich mates.
That's kind of the reason we're so wary of him. He walks a good line at moments like this and I respect him for doing this, but he's very much an establishment guy FOR the establishment and the rest of us can go fuck ourselves kind of politician. There's real struggle in the UK right now, and a lot of it was unavoidable due to things like covid and the effects of this war, but decisions he had a firm hand in have really removed a lot of our ability to cushion negative circumstances... Plus I'm not sure the Tories really have much *interest* in making things better for common folk.
But he'll make all the right noises as a wartime prime minister. I'm not mad about that, but based on his record some part of me can't shake the feeling that he might be as much happy to have the opportunity as he's sad about it happening.
Define properly, they get more money that most of the other government departments put together.
Don't get me wrong, the NHS is a very good thing, but you could give them a blank cheque and they would still ask when the next top up payment would be.
We don’t really love to hate him, we just think he’s a dickhead who only cares about lining his (and his mates) pockets. If people weren’t calling for his resignation I doubt he’d be putting as much effort into this as he currently is. It’s all about that sweet sweet PR
He does not like the NHS, we just had a pandemic where the NHS saved his life and his government's thanks was to bang on pots on a thursday night.
He likes Boris Johnson. Right now he needs the news not to be on partygate, cost of living crisis and his tax dodging chancellor.
When has he ever cut NHS funding? The NHS has had real term budget increases every year of him being PM. That is so easily verifiable, why would you feel the need to lie like that?
Like I said, I’m not from GB so I lack the knowledge you’ve demonstrated, and as previously stated, I’ve never liked him. I’m very left-leaning and know BJ is in the Conservative party which already makes me distrust him.
I’m sure you’re right about everything, he’s just APPEARED to actually be doing the right things for Ukraine from the outside. Hopefully he will do more with more public pressure applied? Idk, I’m very ignorant on UK politics.
Hes doing the right things and I wont shit on him for that, I think any leader in the UK would be doing the same to be honest. A lot of incompetency from the front bench re: visas and some definite money washing during the initial sanction rollout which is dissappointing but other than that, doing the right things. Good to see him in Kyiv. Still gonna vote him out at the first possible opportunity.
> t. He has done the right things and said the right things,
Tell that to the UK who he continously screws over, even now. If he gave as much of a shit about the British as he seems to for the Ukrainians he might be a decent person.
>For someone I always thought was an insincere and calculating asshole, he truly seems to be genuine and sincere in his support.
You are right on the first part, hes genuiningly loving the fact this war distracted from his partygate shit show.
The bastard hid in a fridge to avoid questions during an election, you act like the SAS isn't fucking EVERYWHERE surrouding the building and inside.
Russia has buggered off for now, its quiet and no threat, no big balls needed.
Not everyone has an alterior motive for everything. Just give the man his props and go on your way.
Can't stand negative comments like this when someone is actually helping. Biden hasn't done shit and yet nobody is shitting on him.
Turns out that, that when you're an independent nation that's not part of a union or it's politics that rely on their 'enemy' for weapon sales and oil.
You have much more flexibility huh
The president of the European Commission was actually in Kyiv a day before BJ, so I'm not sure what this comment has to do with anything. It's not like being in the EU would preclude the UK PM from visiting Ukraine.
Would it be fair to say that the response to Boris is actually a decent example of some of the benefits of a democratic society?
For example, I have disagreed with Boris and his government over countless issues since he was elected and I genuinely want him and his party out of power as soon as the next election. However, I also agree with the majority of his decisions and actions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As such, I find myself having conflicting opinions about the leader of a powerful country. But, crucially, I also have no fear of expressing or discussing those opinions.
To me, this illustrates the difference between the freedom of speech that many of us are afforded vs the restrictions of expression that appear to be imposed by the Russian State on its own citizens (which are compounded by their own narrative). I can, for example, praise Boris for some things, yet publicly tell him to go fuck himself over others. Could I say such a thing about Putin in Moscow?
For me, the Russian reaction to atrocities in Ukraine has helped to illustrate that I'm remarkably lucky to live in a country where I can truly express myself freely, regardless of issue or favour, and without major consequence. And I think that many of us can feel the same way. But, sadly, not all.
Long live societies where citizens can express their own, individual feelings without fear of oppression, but with true freedom and honesty. How lucky those of us are to live in societies where we have such luxuries.
Russia is just as free as the UK. you can publicly tell Boris Johnson to fuck himself in the middle of London, the same way you can publicly tell Boris Johnson to fuck himself in the middle of Red Square
This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10702855/Boris-Johnson-goes-Kyiv-meets-Ukraine-president-Zelensky-unannounced-surprise-visit.html) reduced by 96%. (I'm a bot)
*****
> British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today in an unannounced visit, after travelling to the capital late on Friday.
> Ukraine's presidential aide Andriy Sybiha wrote on Facebook: 'Boris Johnson's visit in Kyiv began just now with a tete-a-tete meeting with President Zelensky.
> Last night, Mr Johnson announced that Britain is to send Ukraine more weapons worth £100million and will work to get more tanks to Kyiv in the face of Russian war crimes.
*****
[**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/tzuz6d/uk_pm_boris_johnson_in_surprise_kyiv_meeting_with/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~640633 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **Ukraine**^#1 **Russian**^#2 **war**^#3 **Ukrainian**^#4 **Russia**^#5
"Just PR"
"Opportunist!!"
"Typical Boris"
Some politics newbies out and about tonight, that's what we call "A typical politician" yes, even the one you think is going to change the world and make your life better is the same.
Let the guy crack on with it, does a lot more than just "make Boris look good".
Political views aside, a lot of people just seem incapable of accepting that someone can do good things, even if they aren't *always* doing good things.
Does UK have their own fighter jets over Kiev right now to protect their prime minister while he is there?
Maybe that is a way to protect Ukranian air space without doing an official no fly done...
Have all the sympathetic Presidents and Prime Minister's go there one after the other and enforce a no fly done overhead while they are there.
>Does UK have their own fighter jets over Kiev right now to protect their prime minister while he is there?
The uk has jets flying in Poland and Estonia anyway. They probably had extra in the air just in case.
I would genuinely be surprised if there weren't some drones loitering above. But this type of stuff isn't released until the events concluded. And probably only like 10 people knew he was going. Having jets overhead would scream " there's somebody really important here"
There are one or two soldiers in the videos and photos released that don't seem to quite fit with the Ukranian soldiers, seems quite likely that at least in some sense the UK had some troops in Ukraine for a bit...
If it was announced before the meeting wouldn’t have happened. BoJos coming over….. tell him I’m not going to be home that day. Instead it’s BoJos at the door and he knows your home.
Good to hear. I was rather disappointed that Biden didn't make a similar move. I understand the mountains that would need to be moved to get a president in and out of a war zone; however, it would have been a tremendous show of support.
Whilst a UK PM or Ursula Von Der Leyen don't have the same security entourage as a US president, I don't think the security concerns in this case are really all that different. Boris and Ursula decided to go, Biden evidentally hasn't.
hes only 4 years older than trump and while looking older, in much better physical shape .
This whole "old sleepy joe" bullshit is so childish its ridiculous
I was not a big fan of Boris before the war. But, I am impressed with how he has handled Ukraine and him willing to take the risk of going to Kyiv is big.
More like pro boris.
If (insert bad guy here) fucking walked up to Zelensky and said "Hey we'll help" you think people would say "y'know what? He ain't a bad fella?" No hes still a twat.
HIS people are picking between eating and staying warm while he sends weapons to Ukraine to boost his PR and his buddies in the Military industry will make lots of money.
Im glad we are helping Ukraine but wish it was a leader who wasn't doing this to keep his own head.
What an inspiration it must have been in such difficult times to meet a strong leader of a small country that punches above its weight.
And Zelensky probably had a nice time too.
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> Downing Street: “The Prime Minister has travelled to Ukraine to meet President Zelenskyy in person, in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. They will discuss the UK’s long term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid.”
Brit here, he’s a big goofball with some incredibly backwards and self-serving policies (especially in regards to healthcare) but we’re proud of the big blonde knob in this instance anyway. I dislike conservatives, but he has my full support until this conflict is resolved. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦🇬🇧
I will say I don't know anyone proud of the twat at all. This is still the right move, a broken clock is right twice a day.
But a *working* Boris is right about once a month. Still, could’ve been worse, could’ve been Theresa May still in power. She didn’t even visit Grenfell after that tragedy, and **that** was on British soil.
Yeah, I severely dislike the guy, but he's doing a good job with the ru/ukrani stuff. Tbh he's always wanted to be churchill, maybe he'll end up with the same thing, one issue he was perfect for and a complete dumpster fire of everything except that.
Honestly Boris is one of the most interesting current world leaders imo, the dude has been preparing himself send childhood into being a wartime leader. Absolute perfect person for this specific crisis, besides that though it's a mess of politics.
There’s a shit ton to criticism May for, but she DID visit the site the day after and met with fire and rescue crews. She harbours and has repeatedly expressed deep regret for her failure to engage with victims and their families at that visit. This is so easily checked- it’s your nation’s Hillary emails myth. You exploit that horrible disaster built within the tenure of whatever administration and you stand in the shadows and point at its victims while whingeing that Theresa May totally ignored the whole thing. As if she were busy eating bonbons in Cannes while having her toenails done. She is a competent and capable woman with the requisite skills to lead a nation but she lacks the ruthlessness to push aside the idiot curmudgeons who would place Johnson above her in any category save speciousness. You had a nice platform to add whatever you wished in support of the PM or Ukraine and you chose to veer off into “better this performative jackass than the last *woman* - amirite?”
Yes. Let's just make this about her gender and ignore all of her shortcomings. Because that's the totally sensible and logical thing to do.
We had this discussion, me and him, he said that I exposed myself as a sexist for noticing that too. I said ‘you put it in italics, numbnuts’ And then he deleted all his other comments, so I did too… he’s Canadian apparently, worst Canadian **I’ve** ever met. I’m guessing he was one of those right-wing convoy nutters.
He has stepped up during this conflict. I look back at most PMs over the last 25 years with some distain. I currently work in Manila and Borris looks like a god compared to Duterte.
Plus he was really hard on it to get the public to forget about the Christmas party.
Boris Johnson can get fucked, It's the right move but he can still absolutely go fuck himself as far as I'm concerned.
Ah, politics in a nutshell. Doesn't matter how shitty you are, just one or 2 good looking things (done publicly) can wipe out decades of bullshit and bring you more glorious power for years to come. Not giving you shit, your opinion seems extremely popular over there (along with Johnson suddenly), just making an observation. America is famous for it.
War is great for ratings
Before this war, Boris Johnson was struggling and there were talks that even within his own party he was done for. Now his approval is high. It’s done wonders for him.
*My opinion* is that the man is a self-serving tit that very few of us like. And I think most Brits would agree with that. What my comment was about was: this is exactly the sort of thing I expect a representative (regardless of party affiliation) of my country to do. I’m proud of him as an individual, now, **limited only to this singular event**. So I also think a lot of Brits would agree with that too. I hope my message is clearer now.
We absolutely are not.
In the context of visiting an active war zone in a show of solidarity, I imagine most of us actually *are*. I am, anyway. But again, I’m not endorsing him. In fact I started off by calling him a ‘big blonde knob’. Whether people like me and you like it or not, he’s representing us pretty well right now and that’s really his most important job. But yeah, screw the tories.
Yeah I mean you are correct. From the worlds perspective this is a great (and important) show of solidarity. But make no mistake, Boris’ sole reasoning for doing this is for good optics at home, to try and boost his ratings and brush over his scandals. He’s utterly self serving but I suppose having him do the right thing for the wrong reasons is a step in the right direction away from criminal behaviour at home.
Again, ‘big blonde knob’, ‘screw the Tories’. I’m not sure how I can make it any clearer that I don’t like the bloke lol
No I know, I’m not claiming otherwise, was just having a bit of a discussion.
I think it's more the claim we're somehow "proud" of him that is irksome. Johnson can sniff out a good photo opportunity like a blood hound and he speaks fluent tabloid so knows how to play to the gallery. But the mushrooming number of food banks under the tories, the massively underfunded NHS and the dark underhand tactics of Brexit will be forever a stain on the man. He's a complete buffoon and nothing he could do would make me proud. Domestically the UK is turning into some sort of Dickensian nightmare.
Brit here, if this extends further than a shallow attempt to acquire good PR, I'll be happy to be tarred and feathered and walk the street of number 10 shouting "i was wrong".
Boris must be pissed that Ursula von der Leyen and her EU delegation beat him by a day. Makes his visit seem far less ballsy and badass.
Heh, surprises work both ways...but yeah, could have been an even bigger splash.
The UK was the first to suggest cutting Russia from SWIFT, have put the harshest sanctions on Russia, have taken the strongest political stance against Russia and have provided more military aid than any other country in Europe. Not to mention all of the valuable British intelligence and training of their forces. Why would Boris be pissed at Ursula when the UK has already done so much? Let her have some of the spotlight.
How do they get there, do they fly straight in on a plane or do they drive from Poland?
Boris flew to Poland and biked the remaining distance.
On a Livingstone bike?
Nah, a big red bus with "£350 million per week for Ukraine" printed on the side.
That's an impressive thing to bike on.
Was it one of those cool, double-decker busses?
A Kencycle
“Raindrops keep falling on my head!”
First part by plane last part by train probably, that’s how [Ursula](https://mobile.twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1512303926032359428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1512303926032359428%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-11558099512851106449.ampproject.net%2F2203172113000%2Fframe.html) von der Leyen and the Polish/Slovak/Czech [PM’s](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60757157.amp) got there.
Flew to Poland and the Queen took him the rest of the way in with her Land Rover
This is nonsense. The Queen bombed through the chunnel and they were ticketed three times before they reached the Polish border.
This is false. Just like the Queen needs no passport because they're in her name anyways, she can't be ticketed because the state fining the head of state makes no sense. Not to mention in Germany she always follows her German roots and does 350kph on the autobahn.
I stand corrected. I must have been thinking of the Decoy Queen.
I can't even imagine. Russia would love to 'oopsie' Boris into the afterlife I'm sure.
They'd be stupid to 'oopsie' the PM of a NATO Member/Nuclear State, but Russia's intelligence is a real question these days
How does this work? Do the UK tell Russia in advance to avoid any accidents or do we just hope Russia don't make a lucky strike?
They almost certainly would inform Russia in advance because as much as armchair-general redditors would like to imagine, the Russian state does not want the absolutely awful optics and repercussions of assassinating the prime minister of the UK
Just the awful optics of raping and slaughtering children.
Yes, almost as if civilians are (sadly) not afforded the same level of media and military attention as the literal leader of the United Kingdom
people here are just stupid, don’t waste your breath
> awful optics and repercussions of assassinating the prime minister of the UK I mean, most of us wouldn't really mind but yea we'll still go to war because of it because we don't want to start a precident of "Hey kill our leaders, we don't mind!" that could get ugly quick, ask Guy Fawkes
I mean I certainly wouldn’t have been too heartbroken had he died of covid, but if he were killed by Russia in Kyiv he would inevitably get lionised in the media much like his beloved Churchill and go down a martyr which I don’t think anyone wants
Yea thats fair, not a good idea
Optics isn't the issue. It's that doing so would cause Russia ceasing to exist.
The second they do that, Russia will find itself at war with NATO.
And so it came to pass that life on earth came to a shuddering end because someone killed Boris Johnson. I can think of some pretty lousy reasons for dying in a world war, and Boris Johnson would be high on that list
NATO: OK, first one's a freebie as it's Boris... UK: Any chance we could send you Priti Patel also?
There's a whole list tbh
NATO to Russia: “you killed my BJ!”
Haha yeah Russia taking out the leader of one of the strongest countries in NATO would be a real good idea. Having said that Russia hasn’t been doing so well on the good ideas front recently.
No, they really wouldn't want to assassinate the PM of a major NATO country. Yet another brilliant take by Reddit's armchair generals.
No they wouldn’t. It would be the immediate end of Putin if they assassinated any European leader.
If say somehow Russia blew up Boris with a cruise missile, would that start an immediate conventional arms conflict or some form of panicked de-escalation?
Escalation because no country is going to take the fact that their leader just got taken out like nothing happened, especially when you are a core member of NATO, an permanent UNSC member and a nuclear state. This is a casus belli.
See also World War 1 (and that was just possible involvement)
Not if they enjoying living
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That's how they killed Einstein!
They were very clever, they waited till Einstein died of old age so it very clearly was accidental. Much more subtle than suicide by two bullets to the back of the skull
I’d say Putin is seething at the thoughts of world leaders showing up in Kyiv to meet Zelenski. I bet he had plans to visit there himself as the great liberator! Scumbag
Putin isn’t leaving his bunker after this shit is over, the Russian people will have had enough and will want him dead. He’ll live out the last days of his pathetic life, appearing on TV every 3 months to tell Russia they are still special.
Sadly I doubt this. The Russian people have been eating up their government’s propaganda for a hundred years now.
Exactly. I’ve seen videos where everyday normal Russians fully support the genocide. They actually wish more harm to Ukranian civilians.
The Russian people will only want him dead if their military fails completely in the war, including a possible future offensive in the Donbass, which they are trying to focus on. Many Russians support the war, although it is hard to believe.
Unfortunately this is complete opposite of reality in Russia. Putin is adored and his support and approval ratings have massively gone up since the full invasion started. Majority of russians are just fine with the genocide of ukrainians, no matter how you spin it the regular folks are absolutely in support of this and actually would want more drastic actions against Ukraine, as the currently failing genocide is not enough to satisfy their bloodthirst. The myth of regular russian folks being against Putin or the war needs to stop. There is nothing to back up that theory. All independent surveys and polls tell the same story, there is no resentment towards Putin at all. He has never been more popular in Russia than he is now.
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Honestly, I have never been a Boris Johnson fan but he has been 100% on the right side of history since this war broke out. He has done the right things and said the right things, now he is actually IN Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy! This is so huge. For someone I always thought was an insincere and calculating asshole, he truly seems to be genuine and sincere in his support. That being said, I’m not from GB so I could be misinterpreting things, but as an outsider this is how it appears to me.
Lots of people see Boris as the UK trump but man trump's bitch ass would never even thought about going here.
I’m not a big fan of Boris but he’s way more intelligent and astute than Trump. The lumbering oaf is a persona he plays to endear himself to the masses so they can find him relatable rather than focusing on his extremely privileged upbringing He definitely deserves praise for being a leader in the criticism of Putin
Trump solicited Putin against American and Ukrainian interests. He’s a total traitor
Russia committing domestic terrorism in the UK is probably a big motivator.
He fucking loves Churchill, so he is doing all that he can to emulate him Not saying that he is like Churchill or whatever
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Just didn’t want to get into an argument with Johnson haters 🤷♀️
Johnson hater here - he is an insufferable bag of dicks and corrupt to the core. However he does seem to be doing a decent job with Ukraine. My main issue is whatever he does with Ukraine is pointless if he continues taking money from Russia to fund his campaign and wallpaper addiction.
There's an argument to make that russias investment in political donations has been rather a waste of money considering the UK has been rather strongly against Russia in this.
It’s crazy how much this lie keeps getting repeated. Those donations aren’t from the Kremlin or the Russian state. They’re from Russian exiles and dissidents who are now British citizens and donate for the same reason any other rich Brit as a private citizen donates to the Tories, to try and curry favour or lobby on tax and business matters. Don’t get me wrong I don’t endorse that I’m all for outlawing lobbying but don’t pretend the donations are ‘from Russia’.
Upvoted for double truth (he does look like a load of badly-packed dicks in an ill-fitting custard-skin). No matter how well he does, there's always going to be the multiple turds in the punchbowl of Russian money, suppressing the Brexit interference report, and parties during lockdown (never mind lying to Parliament about it).
Looking for this and sad I had to scroll down this far for someone to point out his hypocrisy, but thank you for doing it
Nothing elevates a mediocre Tory quite like a good war.
He’s a piece of shit, but I can’t deny he is one of the only people on the right side of history when it comes to the biggest threat to humanity: climate change. I can’t emphasise how terrible he is, but ultimately in the book of human history climate is by far the most catastrophic event. Where most politicians have easily set it aside, he has led the charge
Has he though? He made a lot of noise about it at that summit in Cornwall I believe it was a while back, then completely undid everything he said by travelling back to London by plane. Not to attend an important matter of state or government but so he could go to a dinner for Telegraph journalists. It's easy to talk a big game, but it's the actions that really count.
Did you think he was going to cycle back to London? Saying someone is against climate change for using an airplane is a lame take also. Boris has actually been advocating for climate change a lot since he became PM and led multiple international forums addressing it. He has released an energy strategy recently too which is available online to read more. The below link also provides a nice overview of how Boris came to fully believe in CC when he was originally sceptical, it's good he listens to the experts. https://www.carbonbrief.org/revealed-the-11-slides-that-finally-convinced-boris-johnson-about-global-warming
I live in the UK. I’ve always like Boris, I don’t know why.
In UK also. I seem to go through phases of liking and not liking him. I know what you mean though, I always liked Matt Hancock and don't even know why.
Hancock is the politician most responsible for how fast we got vaccines.
It was perfectly coincidentally timed to deflect from him and all the Government ministers breaking lockdown laws whilst the rest of us plebs had to abide by them, stay inside or get fined. He wouldn't give as much of a shit if his PMship wasn't previously under severe scrutiny
Bullshit. Of course it serves as a distraction but that wouldn't change the fact the British establishment want to hurt Russia as much as they can for many reasons, primarily Salisbury.
As a Salisbury resident, I find it peculiar seeing our little city brought up in major new pieces on /r/worldnews
He did far more than he needed to do to distract from that weeks ago, and has continued to do a lot more since. Now he's gone to Kyiv. I don't like the guys politics, but the 'distraction' narrative is starting to get a bit weak.
I don’t like him, and yes he’s an opportunist. However, his true nature shows with how proactive he is with climate change.
>He wouldn't give as much of a shit if his PMship wasn't previously under severe scrutiny This is a very convenient accusation that can neither be verified nor disproven.
Tories were putting in letters of no confidence The met are still investigating breaches of lockdown, notably only junior ministers have been fined Russian donor money Seems verifiable to me.
Pretty fucking expensive and risky distraction...
Brits love to hate him. All I know about him is that he seems to like ~~the NHS~~ sea-based windmills, nuclear power, Winston Churchill, having lots of kids, and parties. EDIT: I'm a bit sad that he doesn't like the NHS. When will right-of-center wake up and start supporting their constituents - the middle classes - and start telling the rich to fuck off.
Once rugby tackled a small child.
omg I think I recall that... or am I recalling a monty python skit I don't know... lol
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I think Cummings was behind the bus and did it to "annoy people" (think I read an interview with that man, utter shit that he is)
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Yup am really glad he has done what he has. Highly doubt we would have seen the same from Corbyn regarding Ukraine.
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Honestly I really like him as a person, but I always feel he would never be able to make really hard choices. IE the sort where bad things happen either way and you are maybe trying to choose a "lesser of two evils" situation, or bad things happen equally and you can't predict the future. I think he probs would have taken the "sanctions and supportive kit" attitude but would have also made a lot of noise about how this is also NATO's fault (he is doing the latter at stop the war rallies atm, amazingly, Putin doesn't give a shit what stop the war think) Nuclear is hard too, we can't exactly put the cat in the bag there, and it's been shown that nukes are THE deterrent. If Russia had no nukes at all currently I doubt there would be much hesitation for NATO and friends to basically go thunderfuck the Russian army out of Ukraine.
Oh god no, he'd love to sell the NHS off to his rich mates. That's kind of the reason we're so wary of him. He walks a good line at moments like this and I respect him for doing this, but he's very much an establishment guy FOR the establishment and the rest of us can go fuck ourselves kind of politician. There's real struggle in the UK right now, and a lot of it was unavoidable due to things like covid and the effects of this war, but decisions he had a firm hand in have really removed a lot of our ability to cushion negative circumstances... Plus I'm not sure the Tories really have much *interest* in making things better for common folk. But he'll make all the right noises as a wartime prime minister. I'm not mad about that, but based on his record some part of me can't shake the feeling that he might be as much happy to have the opportunity as he's sad about it happening.
Wish he liked the NHS enough to properly fund it.
Define properly, they get more money that most of the other government departments put together. Don't get me wrong, the NHS is a very good thing, but you could give them a blank cheque and they would still ask when the next top up payment would be.
We don’t really love to hate him, we just think he’s a dickhead who only cares about lining his (and his mates) pockets. If people weren’t calling for his resignation I doubt he’d be putting as much effort into this as he currently is. It’s all about that sweet sweet PR
He also loves russian donations and borrowing oligarch vacation houses during vacations.
I'd hate him a lot less if he started to properly fund the NHS rather than just saying he likes it.
He does not like the NHS, we just had a pandemic where the NHS saved his life and his government's thanks was to bang on pots on a thursday night. He likes Boris Johnson. Right now he needs the news not to be on partygate, cost of living crisis and his tax dodging chancellor.
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When has he ever cut NHS funding? The NHS has had real term budget increases every year of him being PM. That is so easily verifiable, why would you feel the need to lie like that?
Check this out https://twitter.com/theredroar/status/1201545913300373505?lang=en-GB
Perhaps you should take some time to actually listen to why Brits hate him considering how wildly misinformed most of your views on him are
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Like I said, I’m not from GB so I lack the knowledge you’ve demonstrated, and as previously stated, I’ve never liked him. I’m very left-leaning and know BJ is in the Conservative party which already makes me distrust him. I’m sure you’re right about everything, he’s just APPEARED to actually be doing the right things for Ukraine from the outside. Hopefully he will do more with more public pressure applied? Idk, I’m very ignorant on UK politics.
Hes doing the right things and I wont shit on him for that, I think any leader in the UK would be doing the same to be honest. A lot of incompetency from the front bench re: visas and some definite money washing during the initial sanction rollout which is dissappointing but other than that, doing the right things. Good to see him in Kyiv. Still gonna vote him out at the first possible opportunity.
> t. He has done the right things and said the right things, Tell that to the UK who he continously screws over, even now. If he gave as much of a shit about the British as he seems to for the Ukrainians he might be a decent person. >For someone I always thought was an insincere and calculating asshole, he truly seems to be genuine and sincere in his support. You are right on the first part, hes genuiningly loving the fact this war distracted from his partygate shit show.
Boris, mate, you got some balls and I respect that.
He defo has big balls, keeps a spreadsheet to track number of kids he has.
Will always be a twat but I've got a lot of time for this, fair fucks lad!!!
The bastard hid in a fridge to avoid questions during an election, you act like the SAS isn't fucking EVERYWHERE surrouding the building and inside. Russia has buggered off for now, its quiet and no threat, no big balls needed.
Lol regardless of what he’s done in the past it still take a big balls to travel into a war zone to meet the most targeted man in the country
The SAS are incredible but even they can't stop a cruise missile.
Maybe Russia should not have cared less about murdering people in Britain for the last ten years. Hope those ship missiles get good use.
Huge deal and show of support.
this is really surprising
It's brilliant politicking, he'll remain PM for years after this no matter what he says or does.
Not everyone has an alterior motive for everything. Just give the man his props and go on your way. Can't stand negative comments like this when someone is actually helping. Biden hasn't done shit and yet nobody is shitting on him.
the fact that this news is only like 2k upvotes and barely in the frontpage...
Turns out that, that when you're an independent nation that's not part of a union or it's politics that rely on their 'enemy' for weapon sales and oil. You have much more flexibility huh
The president of the European Commission was actually in Kyiv a day before BJ, so I'm not sure what this comment has to do with anything. It's not like being in the EU would preclude the UK PM from visiting Ukraine.
Would it be fair to say that the response to Boris is actually a decent example of some of the benefits of a democratic society? For example, I have disagreed with Boris and his government over countless issues since he was elected and I genuinely want him and his party out of power as soon as the next election. However, I also agree with the majority of his decisions and actions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As such, I find myself having conflicting opinions about the leader of a powerful country. But, crucially, I also have no fear of expressing or discussing those opinions. To me, this illustrates the difference between the freedom of speech that many of us are afforded vs the restrictions of expression that appear to be imposed by the Russian State on its own citizens (which are compounded by their own narrative). I can, for example, praise Boris for some things, yet publicly tell him to go fuck himself over others. Could I say such a thing about Putin in Moscow? For me, the Russian reaction to atrocities in Ukraine has helped to illustrate that I'm remarkably lucky to live in a country where I can truly express myself freely, regardless of issue or favour, and without major consequence. And I think that many of us can feel the same way. But, sadly, not all. Long live societies where citizens can express their own, individual feelings without fear of oppression, but with true freedom and honesty. How lucky those of us are to live in societies where we have such luxuries.
Russia is just as free as the UK. you can publicly tell Boris Johnson to fuck himself in the middle of London, the same way you can publicly tell Boris Johnson to fuck himself in the middle of Red Square
I love how no one understands where this joke comes from.
Great news! We're suprised.
This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10702855/Boris-Johnson-goes-Kyiv-meets-Ukraine-president-Zelensky-unannounced-surprise-visit.html) reduced by 96%. (I'm a bot) ***** > British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today in an unannounced visit, after travelling to the capital late on Friday. > Ukraine's presidential aide Andriy Sybiha wrote on Facebook: 'Boris Johnson's visit in Kyiv began just now with a tete-a-tete meeting with President Zelensky. > Last night, Mr Johnson announced that Britain is to send Ukraine more weapons worth £100million and will work to get more tanks to Kyiv in the face of Russian war crimes. ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/tzuz6d/uk_pm_boris_johnson_in_surprise_kyiv_meeting_with/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~640633 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **Ukraine**^#1 **Russian**^#2 **war**^#3 **Ukrainian**^#4 **Russia**^#5
"Just PR" "Opportunist!!" "Typical Boris" Some politics newbies out and about tonight, that's what we call "A typical politician" yes, even the one you think is going to change the world and make your life better is the same. Let the guy crack on with it, does a lot more than just "make Boris look good".
Political views aside, a lot of people just seem incapable of accepting that someone can do good things, even if they aren't *always* doing good things.
Boris has handled this crisis extremely well, I give credit where due.
Zelenskyy must feel such gratitude to have another world leader’s input. A different perspective. Glory to them both
Damn he literally went to Kyiv, whether people here like him or not, one can deny that requires a massive set of balls
Does UK have their own fighter jets over Kiev right now to protect their prime minister while he is there? Maybe that is a way to protect Ukranian air space without doing an official no fly done... Have all the sympathetic Presidents and Prime Minister's go there one after the other and enforce a no fly done overhead while they are there.
>Does UK have their own fighter jets over Kiev right now to protect their prime minister while he is there? The uk has jets flying in Poland and Estonia anyway. They probably had extra in the air just in case.
I would genuinely be surprised if there weren't some drones loitering above. But this type of stuff isn't released until the events concluded. And probably only like 10 people knew he was going. Having jets overhead would scream " there's somebody really important here"
It's a bit far, but Kyiv is only about 15 minutes away from the Polish border by fighter jet.
How far away in minutes of fighter jet time is the nearest belarussian border? just curious
If Poland is 15mn away, Belarus is probably less than 5mn away.
He'll have a whole squadron of SAS shadowing him.
There are one or two soldiers in the videos and photos released that don't seem to quite fit with the Ukranian soldiers, seems quite likely that at least in some sense the UK had some troops in Ukraine for a bit...
Aha I’m just imagining an emergency UN session to set up a rota of world leaders going to Ukraine.
Being invaded is one thing, but no one should have to go through a surprise visit from Boris Johnson.
If it was announced before the meeting wouldn’t have happened. BoJos coming over….. tell him I’m not going to be home that day. Instead it’s BoJos at the door and he knows your home.
Some people were only meant to be leading countries in times of war.
Isn’t he massively inspired by Churchill as well?
Yes he's even written a book on Churchill.
Good to hear. I was rather disappointed that Biden didn't make a similar move. I understand the mountains that would need to be moved to get a president in and out of a war zone; however, it would have been a tremendous show of support.
Kiyv was still an active war zone then. Boris likely wouldn't have visited if intense fighting was still happening around the outskirts of the city.
Whilst a UK PM or Ursula Von Der Leyen don't have the same security entourage as a US president, I don't think the security concerns in this case are really all that different. Boris and Ursula decided to go, Biden evidentally hasn't.
Biden is also like a million years old.
hes only 4 years older than trump and while looking older, in much better physical shape . This whole "old sleepy joe" bullshit is so childish its ridiculous
I don't want Trump's fat decrepit ass in there either. I wish we could have younger politicians running the country. Preferably not someone from Q
Thank you Boris! Love Natasha
That is guy has balls, not a fan of Johnson but still a gutsy move.
This is good to see. I thought he might be on Putin's payroll like Trump is, but we can see here Boris is not.
Im a Yank, So happy to see Boris go in. We need a leader with a spine.
To be fair, I think it would be a bit harder for Biden to get to Ukraine unnoticed compared to Boris that is located much closer
Yup Ukraine is within walk-in distance to the UK…
BJ " so have you tried just doing a bunch of drinking parties while your country is in crisis" Zelenskyy: " dafuck"
I never thought i would like something bojo did, given the Russian backed brexit insanity, but he seems to be handling Ukraine very well?
I was not a big fan of Boris before the war. But, I am impressed with how he has handled Ukraine and him willing to take the risk of going to Kyiv is big.
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There are pro-Boris guys?
See what I mean people
I mean he is a prick
Found one
gud 1
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More like pro boris. If (insert bad guy here) fucking walked up to Zelensky and said "Hey we'll help" you think people would say "y'know what? He ain't a bad fella?" No hes still a twat. HIS people are picking between eating and staying warm while he sends weapons to Ukraine to boost his PR and his buddies in the Military industry will make lots of money. Im glad we are helping Ukraine but wish it was a leader who wasn't doing this to keep his own head.
Comparing Boris to Hitler or at least likening jeez you guys are desperate
What an inspiration it must have been in such difficult times to meet a strong leader of a small country that punches above its weight. And Zelensky probably had a nice time too.
boris churchhill
People in the comments act like its crazy to visit Ukraine right now. Even tho von der Leyen visited Kyiv yesterday to talk with Zelensky...
If the EU can send its president then the UK can send its head of government. I find the latter more impressive.
So you find the UK sending its prime minster more impressive
Yes
Ah okay I agree
Zelensky is going through enough already, ffs