Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers his keynote speech during the Conservative Party Spring Conference at the Blackpool Winter Gardens on 19 March 2022 in Blackpool, England
(Getty Images)
Boris Johnson hinted at more military support for Ukraine following a call with US president Joe Biden and other allies ahead of a Nato summit on Thursday.
The prime minister also “underlined his horror” at Russia’s “use of increasingly brutal tactics in Ukraine”, including “siege warfare and targeting of civilians”, Downing Street said.
Mr Johnson, along with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Italy’s Mario Draghi, affirmed his “commitment to support Ukraine militarily, diplomatically and economically, equipping the democratically-elected government in Kyiv with the tools it needs to defend itself”.
Meanwhile, a prank video with defence secretaryBen Wallace emerged on Monday with Downing Street accusing the Kremlin of being behind the efforts to secure sensitive or embarrassing information in duplicitous calls.
An “official teaser” of the call appeared online claiming it was a “video-prank” with “Vovan and Lexus”, a pair previously attributed to a hoax aimed at the Duke of Sussex.
‘Prank’ video with Ben Wallace emerges online
A hoax video call with defence secretary Ben Wallace surfaced online on Monday, with Downing Street blaming Russia for orchestrating the “prank”.
Downing Street accused the Kremlin of being behind the efforts to secure sensitive or embarrassing information in duplicitous calls.
Meanwhile, officials were believed to be lobbying YouTube to remove the video of Mr Wallace, who was under the impression that he was on a call with Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shymhal.
Namita Singh22 March 2022 04:13
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of UK politics for Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Namita Singh22 March 2022 03:44
