Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes that "Trump has the strength and bravery to save Ukraine and end this appalling war."
He wrote about this in a column for the Daily Mail.
According to him, Donald Trump has actually become the president, because he already "showed the Americans his courage and leadership" during the assassination attempt on him.
Johnson believes that despite what some other Republicans have said about Ukraine in the past, Trump understands that a defeat for Ukraine would be a defeat for the US and cause the conflict to spread, because "Putin is not going to stop there."
"If Nato is seen to have failed Ukraine, and if America is seen to have failed, then who will be confident that the alliance will stand up for its own members?" Johnson said.
The British politician believes that Trump will be able to end the war "on the right terms for Ukraine and the West." He suggests that Trump could "end the bureaucratic dither and delay," strengthen the Ukrainian military and remove all restrictions on Western weapons strikes against Russia. And after that, when Putin is defeated, Trump will offer a peace agreement.
According to the ex-prime minister of Britain, Donald Trump will be able to force the Russians to withdraw to the borders that existed before the full-scale invasion in 2022, and to join Ukraine to NATO.
Johnson also believes that in the future Ukraine can replace the role of the United States in Europe, namely, become the continentʼs shield.
"The Ukrainians have more than a million people under arms. They are now well used to working with NATO equipment, and they are the most effective anti-Russian force in the world. Once the war is done, there is no reason why Ukrainian forces should not backfill for some of the 70 000 U.S. troops still in Europe," he writes.
In his opinion, this is beneficial for Trump, because "to save money, and to bring U.S. forces home, and get the Europeans to do more in their own defence, which is one of his key objectives."
At the same time, Johnson does not deny that with Trump in the White House there is a real prospect of some "global rapprochement with Russia" and a return to the times when the Russian Federation was a respected partner of the G8 and even NATO. However, then Washington under the leadership of Trump will have to show that international borders must be respected and that the Soviet empire cannot be restored by force, Johnson added.
"This means supporting Ukrainians to the end. If Trump had been in the White House, I don’t think Putin would have been so reckless and criminal as to invade Ukraine. Never forget, it was Trump, not Obama or Biden, who gave the Ukrainians the Javelin anti-tank weapons that were so crucial in the Battle for Kyiv in 2022. Trump already has the experience of resolute military support for Ukrainian democracy," he noted.
According to Johnson, if and when Donald Trump returns to power this year, "has a massive chance — not just to fix his predecessor’s legacy, but to take the world forward". According to him, Trump realizes that the defeat of Ukraine will lead to huge long-term costs for America and the world.
"On the other hand, a win for Ukraine — properly handled — could pave the way, paradoxically, for a new and far better relationship with Russia. That would be a big win, for America and for the whole world," Johnson stated.