Boris Johnson’s downfall has been met with delight and ridicule in Moscow, while officials in Kyiv expressed sadness at the resignation of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s key ally, which is likely to lead to fears for what it will mean for Ukraine’s war effort.
Johnson, who championed weapons transfers to Ukraine in the early stages of the war and was the first world leader to visit Kyiv in April, has emerged as a much-loved figure in Ukraine, but his position made him a frequent target for Russian state media. The Kremlin described him as the “most active anti-Russian leader”.
“He doesn’t like us. We don’t like him either,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Thursday morning.
As news of Johnson’s looming resignation reached Moscow, other senior Russian officials and Kremlin-linked businesspeople used stronger words, saying he had finally got his reward for arming Ukraine against Russia.
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“The moral of the story – do not seek to destroy Russia. Russia cannot be destroyed. You can break your teeth on it, and then choke on them,” the foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
The deputy chair of Russia’s security council, Dmitry Medvedev, gloated that Johnson’s resignation was “the logical result of British arrogance and mediocre policy”.
“Ukraine’s best friends are departing. We are waiting for news from Germany, Poland and the Baltic states,” the former Russian president wrote on Telegram.
Russia’s leading businessman, Oleg Deripaska, said it was an “inglorious end” for a “stupid clown” whose conscience would be plagued by “tens of thousands of lives in this senseless conflict in Ukraine”.
Others used the opportunity to mock Johnson’s recent statements. The Russian embassy in the UK tweeted a Bloomberg headline from last month which quoted him as saying he planned to stay on as prime minister until the mid-2030s. “Something must have gone wrong,” the embassy’s caption above the headline said.
Senior Ukrainian officials are yet to comment, but one adviser to the president, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the subject, said: “We believe that the UK will remain an important ally, but we are of course saddened. There was a genuine personal bond between the two leaders.”
Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s former ambassador to Austria, thanked Johnson on Twitter. “Many of my friends hated Boris Johnson for his role in Brexit. Quite frankly, I disliked him for that too. But my God, he did the right thing about Ukraine. And I’m not sure he would have been able to do it if the UK were still in the EU. Anyways, thank you, Boris!” he wrote
Zelenskiy’s office has made no secret of its fondness for Johnson, repeatedly praising him as an example to other world leaders.
When Johnson survived a confidence vote in April, Zelenskiy said he was “very happy” that Ukraine had not lost an important ally.
Johnson too appeared to cherish his relationship with Zelenskiy, which he was accused by critics of using to distract from scandals at home.
On the day of the confidence vote, Johnson tweeted an image of himself in 10 Downing Street speaking to Zelenskiy on the phone, along with a message offering long-term support for Ukraine.
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As his ratings at home hit dramatic lows, his popularity on the streets of Kyiv, where he was affectionately known by many as Borys Johnsoniuk, only grew over time.
A poll published in June showed that Johnson was the most popular foreign leader in Ukraine, with a 90% approval rating, just three percentage points behind Zelenskiy.
A hipster bakery chain in Kyiv even dedicated a pastry to him in the form of an apple cake topped with a frilly coating of meringue, to reflect his signature mop of unkempt hair.
This article was culled from theguardian.com
