British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kiev on Friday (17) for his second surprise visit to Ukraine, a day after four European Union (EU) leaders were in the country occupied by Russia.

“I am very happy to see a great friend of our country again in Kiev,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram. Johnson expressed his pleasure “to be in Kiev again” on his Twitter profile.

“Many days of this war have shown Britain’s steadfast and determined support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said before welcoming the British prime minister.

According to a statement from Johnson’s office, the British prime minister “proposed to launch a massive program to train Ukrainian forces that could train up to 10,000 soldiers in 120 days”.

Johnson was the first leader of a G7 nation to visit Kiev on April 9, just two weeks after Russian troops were pushed back from the capital’s suburbs.

The British prime minister’s visit on Friday comes hours after he sent a strong message of solidarity to Kiev, supporting the European Union’s desire to run for the bloc.

The 27 member states of the EU should unanimously give the green light. But the leaders of Europe’s main economies – Germany, France and Italy – have already expressed their full support during their trip to Ukraine on Thursday.