Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky continue daily phone calls

Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken every day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the two leaders forging a strong relationship in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression. 

It is now day six of Moscow’s attack on Ukraine and Mr Johnson and his counterpart in Kiev continue to hold daily phone calls. 

Mr Johnson appears to have spoken to Mr Zelensky more than any other Western leader since last Thursday, with the Ukrainian President leaning on the UK for military support.

He is said to have presented Mr Johnson with a ‘shopping list’ of arms requests, with the UK thought to be sending anti-tank missile shipments almost daily. 

Downing Street would not be drawn on the specifics of the weapons it is sending but Number 10 said last night that Mr Johnson had committed to ‘sending more in the coming hours and days’. 

A source told The Sun: ‘Zelensky has made very specific requests for military hardware during near daily phone calls, and we are working round the clock to get them into Ukraine.’ 

Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken every day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Mr Johnson appears to have spoken to Mr Zelensky more than any other Western leader since last Thursday, with the Ukrainian President leaning on the UK for military support

It emerged at the weekend that Mr Johnson had told aides of his admiration for Mr Zelensky as he continues to lead his nation’s fightback against Russia, having turned down a US offer of evacuation. 

The Prime Minister has publicly paid tribute to the ‘incredible heroism’ of the Ukrainian people and their leader. 

Following a call with Mr Zelensky on Friday morning, Mr Johnson reportedly turned to an aide and said: ‘Jesus, that guy is brave.’

The pair have now spoken every day since Russia’s invasion began in the early hours of Thursday morning last week. 

The calls between the two men appear to be taking place more frequently than Mr Zelensky’s discussions with other world leaders. 

However, Downing Street yesterday refused to be drawn on the subject when asked about the frequency of the calls. 

Mr Johnson is today visiting Poland and Estonia as he inspects NATO’s borders and meets British troops. 

It is unclear whether the PM will speak to Mr Zelensky today but given the daily calls up to now, it appears highly likely. 

The daily calls started last Thursday after Russia launched its initial invasion of Ukraine. 

Mr Johnson and Mr Zelensky spoke in the early hours as the PM said he was ‘appalled by the unfolding events in Ukraine’. 

The premier also told his counterpart that the ‘West would not stand by’ as Mr Putin ‘waged his campaign against the Ukrainian people’. 

Then on Friday morning Mr Zelensky updated Mr Johnson on Russian advances as the PM said the ‘world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing’. 

Downing Street said Mr Johnson had ‘committed to provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days’.  

The phone calls continued over the weekend as Mr Johnson ‘paid tribute to the incredible heroism and bravery of President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people’ during a conversation on Saturday evening.  

On Sunday evening Mr Johnson again ‘lauded the bravery of the Ukrainian people following the Russian invasion and praised the leadership of President Zelensky in the face of such adversity’. 

Mr Johnson is today visiting Poland and Estonia as he inspects NATO’s borders and meets British troops. The PM is pictured arriving in Warsaw, Poland, this morning

Number 10 said the leaders ‘agreed to continue to stay in close contact and the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s staunch support for Ukraine’s sovereignty’. 

The most recent call took place yesterday afternoon as Mr Zelensky ‘updated the Prime Minister on the Ukrainian resistance to the ongoing Russian invasion’. 

Mr Johnson again praised Mr Zelensky for ‘his bravery and that of the Ukrainian people’.

Downing Street said: ‘The leaders categorically condemned the barbaric airstrikes being carried out by Russia against innocent civilians, including children.

‘The Prime Minister updated President Zelenskyy on UK military support being sent to Ukraine, and committed to sending more in the coming hours and days.’