Send long-range rockets, PM tells US

BORIS Johnson is urging the West to supply Ukraine with more military support, including a long-range rocket system, as he branded Vladimir Putin a "crocodile" who "cannot be trusted".

- Ciaran McGrath

In an interview, the Prime Minister appeared to dismiss the idea of talks with the Russian leader, saying: "How can you deal with a crocodile when it's in the middle of eating your left leg? What's the negotiation?"

The phrase was reminiscent of remarks by Sir Winston Churchill about Nazi Germany, who once said of Adolf Hitler: "You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth."

With respect to the war itself, Mr Johnson told Bloomberg TV that Russia was making "slow but palpable progress".

He added: "We desperately need it to end, the world needs it to end.

"One way that it can end is for Putin to accept or say that the denazification of Ukraine has taken place and that he is able to withdraw with dignity and honour."

Ukraine needed Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) in order to "enable them to defend themselves against this very brutal Russian artillery, and that's where the world needs to go, "Mr Johnson stressed.