Ukraine’s former foreign minister has humiliated Sir Keir Starmer and said that Boris Johnson “was much better” as he set the “threshold high” for providing weaponry.
Dmytro Kuleba was key during the start of the war for Ukraine’s defence and according to The Times he has accused Starmer of abandoning the British leadership since coming into power and said his only “unpleasant” conversation with UK officials was before he resigned.
In September officials in Kyiv were growing more and more frustrated with the Labour leader over military aid especially with receiving more long-range weapons such as the Strom Shadow missiles.
Starmer to date has not been to Kyiv since he won the general election on 4 July which has not gone down well.
However, Johnson was the first Western leader to head to Ukraine and he received a hero’s welcome when he returned, he pledged that he will do “whatever I can” to help Kyiv win the war against Russia.
When Boris returned back to Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the times, “glad to see out country’s great friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again.”
Rishi Sunak then took over from Johnson and he met President Zelensky and he said at the time I “confirm continued UK support.”
Kuleba said, “Boris Johnson set the threshold high. Rishi Sunak had no other choice but to meet the threshold and push it further. When the Labour government came into office, we received rock-solid assurances things would continue as they were.
“To a large extent that was the case — except the story with the Storm Shadows.”
He added, “The only unpleasant conversation I had with British officials a couple of weeks before my resignation — and it was the first unpleasant conversation since the beginning of the full-scale invasion — was about the delivery of Storm Shadows and permissions to use them against certain targets.
“Maybe the reason was the new government was cautious and they didn’t want to rush with decisions.”
Kuleba said it felt as if Starmer was “following the Americans” over the supply with the Storm Shadow missiles, however, the Tories did “not restrict themselves.”
Kuleba added, “The Conservatives were coordinating with the Americans but they did not restrict themselves to just following the Americans.
“This is the change that came with Labour. They took a position they would follow the Americans.”
