Boris Johnson has been pictured in a meeting with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, after the UK’s Prime Minister arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit.
The Embassy of Ukraine to the UK shared a picture of the two in conversation across a table in the country’s capital city. The Embassy captioned the picture with ‘Surprise’ and a winking emoji.
Surprise 😉 pic.twitter.com/AWa5RjYosD
— Embassy of Ukraine to the UK (@UkrEmbLondon) April 9, 2022
Presidential aide Andriy Sybiha also shared the image on Facebook, writing, “Boris Johnson’s visit in Kyiv began just now with a tete-a-tete meeting with President Zelensky.”
The meeting was planned in utmost secrecy, with the UK’s premier reported to have flown to Poland and travelled overnight by train to Kyiv.
The pair are known to have been in regular contact since the Russian invasion of Ukraine six weeks ago. President Zelensky addressed the UK’s political chamber of the Houses of Commons in London a few days after war broke out.
The visit, seen as a potent sign of solidarity, comes on the same day as the discovery of 132 civilians found shot dead in Ukraine, and following Zelensky’s accusing Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin of war crimes.