Three PMs in Ukraine
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday. At the same time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal met with his counterparts Mateusz Morawiecki from Poland and Mark Rutte from the Netherlands. Commentators are divided as to whether this is a forward-looking closing of ranks or just PR.
One step closer
For political scientist Viktor Taran the visit is both a call to action and a success. He writes on 24tv.ua:
“It's still too early to expect the announcement of a full-fledged alliance. But we are definitely waiting for an announcement of support and increased arms supplies from Poland and the UK. ... The recipe for success: to get more, you have to work hard. And there we must show that we are united not only by the enemy but also by values. And that we know how to work on the basis of trust without deceiving our partners. ... I sincerely wish everyone good luck. Ukraine needs this success.”
Britain has common ground with Poland and Ukraine
Polityka sees the emerging ménage à trois as promising:
“This is a rather unusual format, as it links close neighbours from Eastern Europe with a more distant country. However, it should not be forgotten that there are few countries as close to Poland and Ukraine as Britain in terms of its attitude towards Russia and its commitment - also military - to preventing Russian aggression against its neighbours. London stresses that it itself was the target of Russian aggression on its territory when Kremlin agents tried to kill a former spy and his daughter with a chemical agent.”
They just want to enhance their image
For Kommersant, the meeting has less to do with solidarity than with self-interest:
“London's interest lies in demonstrating the viability of the 'Global Britain' strategy, which is supposed to turn the country not only into the leader of the Anglo-Saxon world but also a new global centre of power. Poland and the Netherlands want to increase their geopolitical capital with the 'Ukrainian card'. The idea is to play in the same league with the British while taking on a special mission to protect Ukraine so as to increase their weight in the EU. ... And then there's Erdoğan and his offer to mediate: once again he is trying to cast himself as the Eurasian peacemaker.”