BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed during a phone call yesterday the world needs to isolate Russia “completely diplomatically and financially,” Downing Street said.

“The prime minister spoke to Ukrainian President Zelensky this evening. The leaders agreed on the need for the international community to isolate Russia completely diplomatically and financially,” said a statement from Johnson’s office.

The pair welcomed international moves towards excluding Russia from the SWIFT international banking system. 

Johnson praised the “incredible heroism and bravery of President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people”, and both leaders said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces were “being met with a greater Ukrainian resistance than he calculated on”. 

Johnson and Zelensky also shared their “mutual concern” about the role Belarus has played so far in Russia’s invasion. – AFP, February 27, 2022.