Zelenskyy and Johnson cheered on Kyiv walkabout

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday went on a walkabout through Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy gave Johnson a tour of a monastery where they lit candles and the British leader received an icon. They placed flowers at an outdoor memorial wall displaying photos of soldiers who fell in fighting in 2014, viewed an exhibit of damaged, rusting Russian weapons, and greeted cheering crowds. The leaders held talks in Mariyinsky Palace where Johnson offered continued aid and military training. Johnson’s trip to Kyiv followed one Thursday by the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Romania, who pledged to support Ukraine without asking it to make any territorial concessions to Russia. Earlier Friday, the European Union’s executive arm recommended putting Ukraine on a path to membership. The European allies’ latest embrace of Ukraine marked another setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his war nearly four months ago, hoping to pull his ex-Soviet neighbor away from the West and back into Russia’s sphere of influence.