I certainly wasn’t the only one who, upon seeing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson courageously ambling through Kyiv earlier this month, harkened back to the great Winston Churchill’s strolls through wartime London eight decades ago. While Britain and Russia’s relationship has now hit lows not seen in two generations, Johnson visited Moscow as recently as late 2017 while serving as Foreign Secretary. He publicly declared himself "a committed Russophile." Becoming the prime minister 18 months later, Johnson permitted massive Russian financial influence in London, enabling Putin's thugs to enrich themselves and exert their influence in British politics and even silence opposition media. But Putin's abominable actions in Ukraine ended any amicability. Last summer, Johnson surprised many by intrepidly deploying British aircraft carriers within a few miles of Crimea. This sparked anger in the Kremlin, and as importantly, contrasted significantly with U.S. President Joe Biden's reticence to get tough on Russia, including the cancellation of Naval deployments to the Black Sea. Despite libel from the American left, Team Biden has kowtowed to Putin for years , even pressuring the U.S. military to tamp down their deterrence of Russian aggression as recently as November. Meanwhile, since the gruesome war began nearly two months ago, Johnson has redoubled his military support for Ukraine. London sent thousands of its next-generation light anti-tank weapon systems to Kyiv even before the war began. Britain has also added anti-ship and anti-air systems to assist Ukraine. Reports recently claimed Britain is directly training Ukrainian fighters, just as the Biden administration withdraws American personnel. Experts in the arena tell me Britain has clearly taken the lead in supporting Ukraine, a contrast from the feeble non-interventionist Biden administration and assorted isolationists who ignore recent history. It’s no wonder we are told Ukrainian officials now believe Johnson is their most reliable ally. While BoJo strolls central Kyiv, Biden wastes time on climate lunacy in Seattle and pitches failed infrastructure plans in Iowa. Robust support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is popular in Britain, which probably helps Johnson distract from his ongoing domestic ordeals redolent of Democrat politicians in the United States. More than two years after Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, Johnson clearly and thankfully does not wish the island retreat from the world, but rather to reconstitute itself as a global power. That includes taking on Communist China’s noxious aims. Surely the erstwhile London mayor remains wary of losing important post-Brexit trade influence with Beijing, but standing against evil and proving Britain is still capable of global leadership should take precedence. At least we hope it does. I bet Churchill would, too. A.J. Kaufman is a senior columnist with Alpha News. He taught school and served as a military historian before beginning his journalism career, where his writing has since appeared in numerous print and digital outlets. The author of three books, he also contributes to Israel National News, The Lid, and is a frequent guest on various radio programs and podcasts. A.J. currently resides in the Upper Midwest .
