Former Prime Minister Johnson called for giving Kiev $500 billion and a date for NATO membership

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Monday, November 18, for a $500 billion loan to Ukraine and a date for the country's NATO membership.

He endorsed U.S. President Joe Biden 's decision to authorize Ukraine's Armed Forces (AFU) to strike deep into Russian Federation using long-range missiles and called on Britain and France to do the same.

"<...> Now is the time to give the Ukrainians the financial firepower to survive and win this conflict with a $500 billion loan <...> that they will be able to repay," he wrote on his social media page X (formerly Twitter).

In addition, Johnson called on the West to name a specific date on Ukraine's membership in NATO, Gazeta.Ru adds. According to him, Western countries should "have courage and logic" by providing security guarantees to the Ukrainian side.

American economist Jeffrey Sachs, meanwhile, believes that the UK is seeking to drag the US into World War III.

"The British, who now have the world's most irresponsible government, talk as if they are the great British Empire. But all they are trying to do is drag the U.S. into World War III," he pointed out.

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On the same day, Deputy National Security Advisor to the US President John Feiner said that the White House did not directly confirm the authorization for Ukraine to strike Russian territory with ATACMS missiles and based its decisions on the situation on the battlefield.

Earlier, on November 17, The New York Times reported that Biden had authorized Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles to strike Russia. The Le Figaro newspaper wrote at the same time that the French and British authorities had made the same decision, but then removed this information from the article. EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrel said afterwards that on November 18-19 the issue of lifting restrictions on strikes deep into Russia with European weapons would be discussed.

Commenting on these discussions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Ukraine's possible permission to use US ATACMS missiles for strikes deep inside Russia would be a qualitatively new round of tension. He called Moscow's position clear for everyone and recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning to the West in this regard.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to carry it out was made by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.