A small town in southern Ukraine is renaming one of its roads after British prime minister Boris Johnson in recognition of the UK’s efforts to help the country in its war against Russia.
The street is in Fontanka, which sits on the outskirts of Odesa, where the Ukrainian military is currently still resisting Russian forces.
Fontanka’s council is said to have revealed the area had “new heroes” since the war began on 24 February, and issued an order to rename Mayakovsky Street as Boris Johnson Street, according to reports.
“The prime minister of the United Kingdom is one of the most principled opponents of the Russian invasion, a leader in sanctions on Russia and defence support for Ukraine,” the council was quoted as saying.
Ukrainian officials made the decision last week, less than a fortnight after Mr Johnson visited Kyiv and was pictured walking in public with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Following the trip, Mr Zelensky launched a social media campaign to call for more arms shipments to Ukraine in a bid to help defeat Russian invaders after they mounted a large-scale offensive in the Donbas to seize control of eastern Ukraine.
Mr Johnson subsequently revealed that Britain would be sending heavy weapons worth £100m to Ukraine, and would be working to get more tanks to Kyiv.
“They need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them,” the British PM told parliament.
Mr Johnnson also committed to a continued crackdown on Russian president Vladimir Putin via sustained sanctions on those closest to him.
The Ministry of Defence said it had hosted a Ukrainian government delegation at the Salisbury Plain Training Area, where officials reportedly watched demonstrations of the kinds of technology being given to them.
Among the haul were armoured missile launchers, known as Stormers, which the UK government hopes can help Ukraine fight off Moscow’s troops as they continue their assault.
Google Maps reveals that the road to be named after Mr Johnson – currently named after Vladimir Mayakovsky, a famous Russian poet and playwright – is a single-track country lane with overgrown vegetation.
Downing Street is yet to comment on the news.
