The Kremlin in Moscow has lashed out at outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has presided over sustained British support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s incursion. Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s spokesperson, said Mr Johnson “truly does not like us – and we (do not like) him either.” He expressed hope that “more professional people” capable of “making judgments via discourse” would take control in London.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Mr Johnson was “struck by a boomerang he fired himself,” adding that the moral of the story was “do not strive to harm Russia.”
Since the start of the war, Mr. Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have grown close. Mr. Zelensky has yet to openly address the impending end of his tenure.
Mykhailo Podolyak, his adviser, thanked him for “always being at the forefront of supporting” Ukraine and for being “the first to come in Kyiv, despite missile assaults,” on Twitter.
But Guy Verhofstadt, a former Brexit coordinator for the European Parliament, said Mr. Johnson’s reign was coming to an end in “disgrace, exactly like his pal Donald Trump.”
The departure of Mr. Johnson “opens a new page in relations with” the UK, according to Michel Barnier, the former chief negotiator for the European Union, who expressed the hope that this new chapter would be “more constructive, more respectful of commitments made, in particular regarding peace & stability in Northern Ireland, and more friendly.”
However, the majority of world leaders have not yet commented on Mr. Johnson’s impending resignation; they may be waiting until it is official. However, news organisations from all over the world covered the dramatic events live.
Naturally, this is major news in nations with historical ties to the UK, such as Australia, India, Malaysia, and Singapore, which all got their parliamentary system from being former colonies.
And many commentators have questioned what kind of message the UK is giving to the rest of the world about the health of democracy when the leader originally resisted leaving even after a number of his colleagues encouraged him to do so, presumably for the good of the country.
Many people question if this is the democratic system’s creeping collapse.
Given the conflict in Ukraine, there is also concern about how this may affect geopolitics and whether it will serve as a distraction in the West from other, more urgent issues that Asian governments are worried about, such as the rising influence of China in the region and the rising cost of living.