‘No-one died for Brexit’: Ukraine’s ex-president asks Boris Johnson not to compare referendum to fight against Russia

Ukraine’s former president Petro Poroshenko has told Boris Johnson not to compare the Brexit vote to his country’s fight against Russia, saying “zero” people died as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Asked about the Prime Minister’s comments at the weekend, Mr Poroschenko said “thousands” of Ukrainians have died defending their country from Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s predecessor told ITV News on Tuesday: “Only today we have 150 Ukrainian children who were killed by Russian soldiers and Russian artillery.”

“Can I ask you how many houses were destroyed because of Brexit? We have whole cities that have been completely destroyed,” he said, adding: “With this situation, please, no comparison.”

Mr Johnson had already sparked anger with his remarks in a speech to the Scottish Conservatives spring conference on Saturday.

He said: “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time.

“I can give you a couple of famous recent examples. When the British people voted for Brexit in such large numbers I don’t believe it was remotely because they were remotely hostile to foreigners - it was because they wanted to be free.”

Downing Street insisted on Monday that the Prime Minister was not directly comparing the war in Ukraine with Brexit, and said he would not retract the comments.

“There was not a direct comparison made between fighting in Ukraine (and Brexit)...they’re not directly analogous. He was making observations about people’s desire for freedom,” the spokesman said.

Speaking in military uniform from Kyiv, Mr Poroshenko urged Mr Johnson to visit the Ukrainian capital along with other Western leaders in a united show of opposition to Mr Putin.

“[Mr Putin] thinks he that he’s almost encircled Kyiv because this is extremely deadly, dangerous to stay now in Kyiv, but exactly because of that I make a public appeal to the Western leaders, including President Biden, including Prime Minister Johnson, including President Charles Michel, including leaders of the European Union, please come to Kyiv.

“Be together with us, be symbolic, demonstrate that we together want to defend Kyiv and Ukrainians.”