Six months of war and Boris is back in Kyiv

Boris Johnson, prime minister of Great Brtain and Northern Ireland for another 12 days, turns up in Kyiv for a glowing welcome from the tough guy in the khaki vest. Volodymyr Zelensky loves Boris because he went to Kyiv for a walkabout before most leaders had booked their flights. But Boris will soon be gone and I can't see Zelensky having the same buddy buddy relationship with Liz Truss. Different peas in a different pod. But while Boris heads off back to Fleet Street from whence he came, Zelensky will stay in his kkaki outfits trying to outsmart the Russians and save his country from annihilation. The prospects and omens are not good. I can see Zelesnky still in his khaki vest calling for more western weapons in a year's time, perhaps two years. That dreadful military word, stalemate, has now embedded itself in the rival military camps. Not much progress from either side. Zelensky will rue the day Boris got ousted from the premiership because one thing the British prime minister is good at is rousing the West to keep supporting Kyiv and its struggle with Putin. When winter sets in, the war will grind to a halt. So it will be more difficult for Zelensky to keep the interest going. But the 31st anniversary today of Ukraine's independence from Russia has served as a strong reminder to the West that Ukraine's sovereignty is worth fighting for, or at least, worth arming Kyiv for. The latest huge military package announced by President Biden for Ukraine today will guarantee that Russia will have no choice but to fight on. Did Putin ever consider this possible scenario when he ordered Russian troops to cross the border on February 24th? No, absolutely not.