Former British prime minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Odesa on Saturday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western governments not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Johnson was seen on Langeron beach watching a sunrise over the Black Sea alongside former Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft and Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko. Local residents took selfies with Johnson as a pianist performed live; Goncharenko thanked him for his "solidarity," saying the visit "meant a lot to Odesa and Ukrainians." Johnson has made several visits to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In Kyiv, President Zelensky issued a warning to NATO and Western governments, saying Putin could not be trusted and alleging that the Russian president sought to occupy all of Ukraine. The remarks came as Russian forces have regained ground in recent weeks and as Putin said he would continue fighting if his peace demands — including that Ukraine cede territory — were not met. Johnson condemned what he called a recent high-profile reception for Putin by former US President Donald Trump in Alaska, describing the event as "sick making."
The visit and Zelensky’s comments coincided with heightened tensions on NATO’s eastern flank after what allied officials described as an incursion of Russian drones into Polish territory last week. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said ground-based air-defence systems were placed on their highest alert and that operations were under way to shoot down any drones that crossed into Polish airspace, with particular focus on Lublin Airport, roughly 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.
NATO launched an operation dubbed Eastern Sentry in response, with the alliance warning that Russia’s newer missiles could travel at up to five times the speed of sound and pose a threat beyond the immediate border states. In remarks accompanying the launch, NATO leadership said the weapons could reach farther into Western Europe in only a matter of minutes, underscoring concerns about rapid escalation and the need for strengthened air defences across the alliance.
Allied contributions to the operation were announced alongside the launch. Denmark said it would provide two F-16 fighters and an anti-air warfare frigate to NATO’s defence operation and would invest about £6.7 billion in surface-to-air missile systems, described by officials as the country’s largest-ever weapons deal. France and Germany have placed fighter jets on permanent standby, with three French Rafale aircraft and four German Eurofighters assigned to the effort. Poland has reportedly massed around 40,000 troops on its eastern border amid the heightened alerts.
The United Kingdom said it was "fully committed" to the new NATO operation and that the role of UK forces would be announced shortly. Defence Secretary John Healey last week asked military advisers to consider how the UK could bolster Polish air defences. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the UK would play its part "following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia."
NATO officials and defence analysts have suggested that the drone launches were intended as a test of the alliance’s ability to detect and respond to a new generation of long-range cruise missiles and unmanned systems. The alliance said the operation is a direct response to the reported incursion by at least 24 drones over Polish territory.
Johnson’s visit to Odesa came as Western capitals weigh how far to increase support for Ukraine while containing spillover risks for alliance members. Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly called for more air-defence systems and deeper military cooperation with NATO partners to deter further Russian attacks near allied borders. The new NATO posture and member-state contributions aim to strengthen those defences as the conflict enters its fourth year.