UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made his second surprise visit to Ukraine where he offered troop-training missions and looked at tightening sanctions on Russia.
He tweeted a picture on Friday of himself and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the words: “Mr President, Volodymyr, It is good to be in Kyiv again.”
President Zelenskyy said they also talked about their weapon requirements. “I appreciate your understanding of our military requirements. That is very important. Particularly, we discussed the need to bolster the supplies of heavy weaponry,” President Zelenskyy said.
“The main thing today is to provide air defence for Ukraine as well. We started to move in this direction. Russian missiles remain a threat to our people, to the entire territory of Ukraine.”
The visit was also announced on Mr Zelenskyy’s Telegram account, which read: “Many days of this war have proved that Great Britain’s support for Ukraine is firm and resolute. Glad to see our country’s great friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again.”
A video from the Ukrainian government showed Mr Zelenskyy warmly greeting the prime minister with a “hi, Boris” as he arrived at the presidential palace.
The UK leader told his Ukrainian counterpart that the UK is prepared to launch a major operation to train Ukrainian armed forces, Downing Street said.
He pledged that Britain could train up to 10,000 troops every 120 days, when the two men met during the unannounced visit.
Downing Street said international partners would be invited to host the programme, if the offer is accepted by Ukraine.
In a statement, Mr Johnson said: “My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail.
“As Ukrainian soldiers fire UK missiles in defence of your nation’s sovereignty, they do so also in defence of the very freedoms we take for granted.
“That is why I have offered President Zelenskyy a major new military training programme that could change the equation of this war — harnessing that most powerful of forces, the Ukrainian determination to win.”
Downing Street said the UK-led programme would train and drill the Armed Forces of Ukraine using battle-proven British Army expertise, allowing them to accelerate their deployment, rebuild their forces, and scale-up their resistance as they continue to defend their nation’s sovereignty against Russian invaders.
The previous Operation Orbital saw the UK train more than 22,000 Ukrainian personnel from 2015 until the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The new programme would train forces outside of the country.
They also talked about further sanctions on Russia.
“We discussed in detail new ways to step up sanctions against Russia,” President Zelenskyy said. “We can make sanctions tangible, so that Russia really feels that its aggression, its terrorist actions against Ukraine and against global stability will lead to losses for Russia itself — the aggressor must pay the highest price for this aggression, for this war.”
Earlier, Mr Johnson pulled out of speaking at a Yorkshire conference of northern Conservatives before a closely-contested by-election in the county.
Mr Johnson has been one of the strongest international supporters of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion. Britain has given the country hundreds of millions of pounds in military and humanitarian aid.
Mr Zelenskyy has praised Mr Johnson for his support during the war with Russia, and spoke out after he survived a vote of no confidence from his own Conservative MPs earlier this month.
Mr Johnson's leadership has been under continued pressure in recent weeks after he received a police fine for breaching Covid-19 regulations in Downing Street. Most recently, his own ethics adviser resigned on Thursday after saying the prime minister had put him in an “odious position”.
He first visited Kyiv in April when he promised the West would continue to “ratchet up” sanctions on Moscow as he praised the courage of the Ukrainian resistance.
Yesterday, the leaders of the European Union's most powerful countries made a joint trip to Kyiv, their first since the war began.
They gave their backing to Ukraine's long-held desire to join the European Union after meeting, which was followed today by backing from the European Commission.
“Ukraine belongs to the European family,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, alongside France's Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Mario Draghi.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's wife Carrie was seen at Royal Ascot in the UK.
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Company%20Profile
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What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Company%20Profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills