Boris Johnson meets Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a “show of solidarity”.

“Right now a visit of Boris Johnson in Kyiv started from one-on-one meeting with President Zelenskiy,” Andriy Sybiha,
deputy head of Ukraine’s president office, said on Facebook.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the PM was making the trip “in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people”.

“They will discuss the UK’s long term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Johnson’s surprise trip comes soon after the UK pledged to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine for the first time as part of a new £100m package.

Boris Johnson is not the first foreign leader to make the trip to Kyiv, with the likes of the EU’s Ursula Von Der Leyen, Austria’s Karl Nehammer and Slovakia’s Eduard Heger all meeting with Mr Zelenskyy face-to-face in the last few days.

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• Ammo depot destroyed at air base in central Ukraine, says Russia’s Interfax news agency
• General responsible for atrocities in Syria reportedly now in charge of Ukraine invasion.
• Curfew in Black Sea port of Odesa from Saturday night until Monday amid fears of attack
• More than 6,600 people evacuated through humanitarian corridors on Friday
• EU promises to “accelerate” Ukraine’s membership
• Russia has lost 19,000 troops, Ukraine claims, after Kremlin admits ‘significant’ losses

Live updates as Russian forces abandon tanks in ‘possible sign of collapse’

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Station attack is ‘evil that has no limits’

It also comes a day after at least 50 people were killed in an attack on civilians at Kramatorsk rail station in eastern Ukraine – something Mr Zelenskyy said was a war crime.

Ukraine’s railway operator said on Saturday that services out of Kramatorsk were still disrupted but that evacuations would continue at other stations in the country’s east.

Five children were among the at least 50 people killed. Up to 4,000 people, thought to be largely women and children, were at the station when the blast hit.

The station had been packed as people tried to flee Ukraine, but the Russian defence ministry denied targeting the station.

The start to the weekend also saw Russia claim to have destroyed an ammunition depot at the Myrhorod Air Base in central Ukraine, according to the country’s Interfax news agency.

The Black Sea port of Odesa also imposed a curfew from Saturday night until Monday morning amid fears of an attack on the city.

General responsible for Syria atrocities ‘now in charge’

There are also unconfirmed reports that Alexander Dvornikov, a Russian general responsible for atrocities in Syria, has been put in charge of the Ukraine invasion.

Speaking to Sky News, former UK ambassador to Russia Sir Roderic Lyne appeared to confirm the news.

“They’ve appointed a new general with a pretty savage track record in Syria to try to at least gain some territory in Donetsk that Putin could present as a victory,” he said.

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