British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Thursday that Britain would continue to tighten sanctions against Russia to force it to back out of the war.

The UK Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement about a phone call between the leaders: Zelensky thanked Johnson for “the UK’s ongoing military support, alongside tough new sanctions to punish the Putin regime for its actions.” 

For his part, Jonson is committed to tighten sanctions on Russia to force it to retreat militarily from Ukraine, and he praised the work of UK in providing the military equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself.

According to the statement, the two leaders  condemned “the horrifying attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol and the failure by Russian forces to respect cease-fire agreements in humanitarian corridors.”

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and imposing “tough” economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.