Putin Running Out Of Russian Troops To Deploy In War, Claims Boris Johnson As EU Opens Doors To Ukraine

As the Russia-Ukraine war continues, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed on Wednesday that U.K. intelligence points to Russia running out of momentum to continue the war. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been granted candidate status in its journey to become a member of the EU.

Boris Johnson claimed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will run out of steam in a few months due to a lack of resources in the country, and he believes that this can lead to a win for Ukraine once this happens, according to Business Insider.

“Our defense intelligence service believes, however, that in the next few months, Russia could come to a point at which there is no longer any forward momentum because it has exhausted its resources,” Johnson said. “Then we must help the Ukrainians to reverse the dynamic. I will argue for this at the Group of Seven summit.”

Johnson, who has been supportive of Ukraine since the start of the war, highlighted the importance of a Ukraine win not just for the country, but for Europe overall, as he said that “[the] unity of the West is far more conspicuous than the divisions.”

“This is their crisis. They are the victims of Putin's aggression, they must decide what they want to do. But it is absolutely clear if you go to Ukraine, if you talk to the Ukrainians, and if you talk to [Ukrainian President] Zelensky, you will come away with the overwhelming view that the Ukrainians will not concede their territory,” he said.

Meanwhile, European leaders and members of the European Union have granted candidacy status to Ukraine to join the EU, along with Moldova, as leaders across the political and economic union come together in support of Ukraine, the Guardian reported.

“It’s a victory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “We have been waiting for 120 days and 30 years, and now we will defeat the enemy.”

Many believe that the speedy granting of candidacy status to Ukraine was largely prompted by the Russia-Ukraine war and the fear of leaders in the EU to be on the wrong side of history if they do not grant their support to Ukraine.

“Just a few months ago I was really skeptical that we would reach this position here where Ukraine gets candidate status,” Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.

“We need this clarity [on EU membership] to support the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian society, morally, psychologically, and to get the clear feeling and understanding of the direction of movement for Ukraine,” Ukrainian ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov said.