Ukraine President Zelenskyy meets British PM Johnson in Kyiv

Britain's Boris Johnson, one of Ukraine's staunchest backers, flew to Kyiv on Saturday (Apr 9) to pledge tighter sanctions on Russia and offer President Volodymyr Zelenskiy more defensive arms, a move the Ukrainian leader said others should follow.

At a meeting shrouded in secrecy until Johnson appeared in the Ukrainian capital, the two leaders cemented the close ties they have nurtured since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24. The move caps weeks of lobbying by Johnson to meet Zelenskiy.

With both men standing at podiums in front of cameras, they praised each other for their cooperation since the Russian invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour. Zelenskiy rejects the description, saying Russia is bent on destroying his country.

"We must put more and more pressure on the Russian Federation, work harder to help the people of Ukraine defend it against the Russian Federation, and step up sanctions," Zelenskiy said.

"Other democratic Western states should follow the example of Great Britain. It's time to impose a complete ban on Russian energy supplies, and increase the delivery of weapons to us."

Johnson replied: "Together with our partners, we are going to ratchet up the economic pressure and we will continue to intensify, week by week, the sanctions on Russia."

He added that the measures would include moving away from the use of Russian hydrocarbons.

Earlier, his Downing Street office said Britain would provide the country with 120 armoured vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems.

The aid was in addition to 100 million pounds' (US$130 million) worth of high-grade military equipment announced on Friday, Downing Street said.

Britain would also guarantee an additional US$500 million in World Bank lending to Ukraine, taking its total loan guarantee to US$1 billion, and would liberalise tariffs on most imports from Ukraine and take other measures to free up trade.