Russia-Ukraine crisis: Putin facing greater resistance, say Zelenskyy, Johnson

'They welcomed the increased willingness to take action on excluding Russia from SWIFT'

AP file

Published: Sun 27 Feb 2022, 8:02 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing “greater Ukrainian resistance” that he anticipated, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Zelenskyy, who spoke on Saturday evening as hostilities reportedly continued in parts of Ukraine.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy this evening. He paid tribute to the incredible heroism and bravery of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people”.

“The leaders agreed that President Putin is being met with a greater Ukrainian resistance than he calculated on. The Prime Minister updated on the UK's support to Ukraine and the progress rallying international partners to hold Russia to account for their campaign of destruction”.

The spokeswoman added that the two leaders agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially: “They welcomed the increased willingness to take action on excluding Russia from SWIFT”.

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SWIFT is an international payment system through which trillions of dollars pass almost on a daily basis due to trade and other financial activities. Britain has been pushing to exclude Russia from the system to inflict economic cost for invading Ukraine, but some countries have opposed the move.

“The Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy expressed their mutual concern about the role Belarus is playing as a conduit for President Putin's violence”, the spokeswoman added.