LONDON, June 19 — Britain must have a military capable of fighting in Europe and defeating Russia, the new head of the British army was quoted as telling troops by local media.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February, has ruled out sending British troops to help Kyiv, but warned this weekend that London would have to show support for "the long haul".

Patrick Sanders, who took command of the British army this month, told British troops, according to the i newspaper today: "I am the first Chief of the General Staff since 1941 to take command of the Army in the shadow of a land war in Europe involving a continental power."

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine underlines our core purpose -- to protect the UK by being ready to fight and win wars on land." — Reuters

LONDON, June 19 — Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin warned Britain today it would be "very serious" if it enacted a new law to unilaterally change part of a Brexit deal to try to ease trade with Northern Ireland, and urged the government to resume talks.

"If this bill is enacted, I think we're in a very serious situation," he told the BBC.

"What now needs to happen is really substantive negotiations between the British government and the European Union." — Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 18 ― US President Joe Biden took a tumble as he was riding his bicycle Saturday morning, but was unhurt.

A video from a White House pool report showed the 79-year-old president immediately getting up after his fall. He then says: “I’m good.”

He was biking with First Lady Jill Biden near their vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and had stopped to talk to onlookers when he fell. ― AFP

KYIV, June 18 ― Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the southern city of Mykolaiv during a working trip to the region, his office said in a statement on Saturday, without specifying when the visit took place.

“The President inspected the building of the Mykolaiv regional state administration which was destroyed as a result of a missile strike by Russian forces,” it said. ― Reuters

LONDON, June 18 ― British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday he was confident of the legality of his government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the first flight was blocked at the last minute by the European human rights court.

The court issued an injunction on Tuesday to stop the scheduled deportation of a handful of migrants on board, a decision Johnson described as a “weird last minute hiccup”.

“Every single court in this country said there was no obstacle that they could see, no court in this country ruled the policy unlawful which was very, very encouraging,” Johnson told reporters. “We are very confident in the legality, the lawfulness of what we are doing and we are going to pursue the policy.” ― Reuters

LONDON, June 18 ― It is important Britain continues to show it is supporting Ukraine for the long haul, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday, warning of a risk of “Ukraine fatigue” as the war drags on.

“The Russians are grinding forward inch by inch and it is vital for us to show what we know to be true which is that Ukraine can win and will win,” Johnson told reporters on his arrival back in Britain from a visit to Kyiv.

Some members of his Conservative Party had criticised him for making the trip instead of attending a conference in northern England.

“When Ukraine fatigue is setting in, it is very important to show that we are with them for the long haul and we are giving them the strategic resilience that they need,” Johnson said. ― Reuters