Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the U.S. government's reported peace proposal for Ukraine on April 24, calling it a reward for aggression after a Russian missile attack killed at least 12 civilians and injured 90 in Kyiv.
Johnson, once a vocal supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war, criticized the reported terms of the plan as deeply flawed.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin indiscriminately butchers more Ukrainian civilians, killing and injuring 100 in Kyiv, including children. And what is his reward under the latest peace proposals?" Johnson wrote on X.
He pointed to provisions that would allow Russia to retain sovereign Ukrainian territory seized by force, block Ukraine from joining NATO, and lift sanctions against Moscow.
"As for Ukraine - what do they get after three years of heroic resistance against a brutal and unprovoked invasion?" Johnson said. "What is their reward for the appalling sacrifices they have made - for the sake, as they have endlessly been told, of freedom and democracy around the world?"
Commenting on a proposed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, he said that "apart from the right to share their natural resources with the United States, (the Ukrainians) get nothing."
The U.S. peace proposal — first reported by the Wall Street Journal on April 20 — was presented during a closed-door meeting in Paris on April 17 and confirmed by Western officials.
The plan reportedly includes U.S. recognition of Russia's illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea and a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO, two of the Kremlin's core demands.
Johnson warned that accepting such terms would allow Russian troops to regroup and launch another assault.
"If we are to prevent more atrocities by Putin, then we must have a long-term, credible, and above all properly funded security guarantee for Ukraine — a guarantee issued by the UK, the US, and all Western allies."
Ukraine has firmly rejected negotiating its territorial integrity under pressure. "This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 22.
Trump has denied that his administration is pressuring Ukraine to accept Crimea as Russian territory. "Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory," he wrote on Truth Social on April 23.
Trump responded to Russia's deadly attack on Kyiv by writing that he was "not happy with the Russian strikes," calling them "not necessary" and "very bad timing."
He urged Putin to "stop" and "get the peace deal done," but stopped short of any condemnation or threat of consequences.
Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire, first proposed on March 11 in Jeddah. Moscow has refused to join, continuing its offensive operations across the front line.
Yuliia Taradiuk
(Updated: )
