UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said there is a "realistic possibility" of Russia winning the war agains Ukraine and that the wa could continue until the end of next year. As he was taking questions from media in New Delhi during his two-day visit to India, he was asked to comment on the estimate of Western officials that Russia could win the war which may continue for a very long time.
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"Yes. I mean, look. The sad thing is that is a realistic possibility. Yeah, of course, Putin has a huge army. He has a very difficult political position because he has made a catastrophic blunder. He has the only option now is to continue to try to use his grinding approach, led by the artillery trying to grind the Ukrainians down. He is very close to securing a land bridge in Mariupol now. The situation is, I am afraid, unpredictable at this stage. We just got to be realistic about that," Boris Johnson said.
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"But we have also seen the incredible heroism of the Ukrainians and the willingness to fight. And I tell you something. No matter what..it could be a long period, I agree, But he will not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people. And that is an observable fact. On the contrary, what he is doing every day is strengthening and reinforcing the will to resist," the UK PM said adding that the UK now plans to send tanks to Poland.
{{/usCountry}}"But we have also seen the incredible heroism of the Ukrainians and the willingness to fight. And I tell you something. No matter what..it could be a long period, I agree, But he will not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people. And that is an observable fact. On the contrary, what he is doing every day is strengthening and reinforcing the will to resist," the UK PM said adding that the UK now plans to send tanks to Poland.
{{/usCountry}}Countries supporting Ukraine must now think what more they can do in form of intelligence sharing, military training, economic sanctions and intensifying pressure on Putin. Ukraine needs to be fortified so that it becomes impenetrable by Russian forces, Johnson said.
The UK Prime Minister recenlt went to Ukraine and met President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Friday, as he became the first western leader to concede Putin could win the war, he also said the UK embassy in Ukraine will be reopened from next week.