Boris Johnson: Trump’s Ukraine comments meant to ‘shock’ Europe into action

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said President Trump’s recent remarks about Ukraine are intended to “shock” Europe into action.

“When are we Europeans going to stop being scandalized about Donald Trump and start helping him to end this war?” Johnson posted Wednesday on the social platform X.

European leaders were shocked when Trump took steps to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Eight major European leaders met Monday to coordinate a response as Ukraine gets sidelined by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during peace talks.

Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday evening, arguing he had done a “terrible job” leading the country amid war.

Zelensky responded, saying Trump lives in a Russian “disinformation space.” He asked the Trump administration to be “more truthful” about what’s going on.

Zelensky said he knew “nothing about” the peace discussions in the Middle East until they were already publicly announced.

European officials expected not to be entirely included over the international defense spending but did not expect to be left out of the peace talks entirely.

As European leaders express concern over Trump and Putin’s closeness, Johnson voiced support for Europe to step in.

“Trump’s statements are not intended to be historically accurate but to shock Europeans into action,” Johnson said.

“The US believes Belgium, France and other countries are blocking,” he concluded. “It’s absurd. We need to get serious and fast.”

Current British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated his support for Ukraine and Zelensky after Trump’s fiery statement Wednesday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for 10 Downing Street said that Starmer “expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”.

He also contradicted Trump’s statement on elections in Ukraine, telling the Ukrainian president that “it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War II.”

The statement added that he reiterated his support for the U.S.-led efforts to get “a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression.”

This comes as Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to meet with Trump next week.

Updated: 4:52 p.m.