Ukraine's prime minister said that the country is "absolutely sure" that it will defeat Russia's invading forces in a "short period" after Boris Johnson said that it remains a "realistic possibility" for Russia to win.
Russia has launched what is seen as a second phase of its invasion of the Donbas region in the east of Ukraine after pulling back from its attack on the north which began on February 24.
And a Russian general said on Friday that Moscow wants to take full control over southern Ukraine, which the Ukrainian government says shows that Russia's previous assertions, that it had no territorial ambitions, was a lie.
But Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is convinced that Ukraine will come out on top in the conflict.
"We are absolutely sure that Ukraine will win in this war and victory will be in (a) very short period," Denys Shmyhal told CNN, when asked about Mr Johnson's comment.
The UK prime minister had been asked about the possibility of the war dragging on until next year and for Russia to win, which Mr Johnson said was a "realistic possibility" during a press conference in India.
Mr Johnson said: “The sad thing is that that is a realistic possibility. Of course Putin has a huge army, he has a very difficult political position because he has made a catastrophic blunder.
“The only option he now has is to continue to use his appalling, grinding approach, led by artillery, trying to grind the Ukrainians down.”
But he added: “I think no matter what military superiority Vladimir Putin may be able to bring to bear in the next few months - and I agree it could be a long period - he will not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people."
At the same time the UK has offered to send tanks to Poland so it can supply its own heavy weaponry to Ukraine for its battle with Russia.
The Government has resisted sending its own tanks straight to Ukraine over fears it would escalate tensions with Russia but it is understood that sending equipment to Warsaw is regarded as the quickest way to support Ukraine.
The plan would allow Poland to then send on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, which Ukrainian troops are trained to use, to Kyiv.
Western allies are also preparing to offer security guarantees to Ukraine so it is "impregnable" to a future Russian invasion, the PM revealed.
At a press conference in New Delhi today, the Prime Minister said: “We are looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland, who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians.
“We are looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they send some of their T72s to Ukraine.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said allies were finally delivering the weapons Kyiv had asked for.
President Joe Biden said on Thursday he had authorized a further $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, including heavy artillery, ammunition and drones. Canada said on Friday it had provided more heavy artillery to Ukraine.
Ukraine's military said Russian forces had increased attacks along the frontline in the east and were attempting an offensive in the Kharkiv region, north of their main target, the Donbas.
Ukrainian military commands in the south and east said they had repelled 11 Russian attacks, killing up to 130 soldiers while destroying 12 tanks and 27 other armoured vehicles.
Russia's defence ministry said its forces had captured a large arms depot in the Kharkiv region. It also reported hitting dozens of targets in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions on Friday.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region who has often described himself as Putin's "foot soldier", wrote on his official Telegram account late on Friday that Chechnya was deploying hundreds of additional volunteers to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
