Earlier today, Moscow announced that it would be banning Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK. Along with the Prime Minister, several other top officials from UK were also banned. This came after Boris Johnson’s visit to Ukraine.
Why Was Boris Johnson Banned?
The Prime Minister of UK visited President Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine. He pledged to stand by the Ukrainian people and to help them out. UK has been one of the most vocal countries that spoke out against the atrocities committed in Ukraine by Russia.
Johnson further promised military aid of additional $500 million in form of World Bank guarantee. This is after he set out 120 armored vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems to Ukraine.
Along with that, over £100 million worth of military equipment was announced. It included over 800 anti-tank missiles, Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, and other high tech loitering munitions to help with precision strikes.
This visit angered the Russian officials. According to the foreign ministry’s statement, “This step was taken as a response to London’s unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for restricting our country and strangling the domestic economy”.
The statement also read that the British leadership was “deliberately aggravating the situation” and that it was “pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part in NATO”.
UK’s response
The UK government has maintained its stand on the war and has said that it will continue being “resolute” with its support to Ukraine. It also openly condemned Russia’s “reprehensible actions” in relation to invading Ukraine.
NATO countries like US and UK are supplying weapons and ammunition along with other military equipment to Ukraine. However, they refused to send out NATO troops or implement a no-fly zone that Ukraine had asked for.
Who All Have Been Banned By Russia?
Along with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 10 other officials have been banned. UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab along with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss have been blacklisted. Furthermore, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, and former Prime Minister Theresa May along with the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon are also banned.
The US and UK recently announced further sanctions on Russia. The sanctions are usually on people. But the purpose of the sanctions is to damage Russia’s economy and also penalize Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. It also aims to penalize the high-ranked officials and others who have benefitted from Putin being the President.
On Wednesday, the US is said to send more weaponry to Ukraine as part of their $800 million package. Moscow responded on Friday that the US would have to face “unprecedented consequences” if it did not cease sending more weaponry to Ukraine.
Russia started invading and attacking Ukraine on February 24. So far, it is said that over 7.1 million people have been displaced since the invasion while thousands of people have been killed. Stories of brutality by the Russian military also surface every day where women allege them of raping and killing civilians unnecessarily.
