“When the British people voted for Brexit in such numbers, I don’t think it was because they were secretly hostile to foreigners. It was because it wanted to be free to do things differently and wanted this country to follow its own course,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s statement was immediately criticized. His party colleague Lord Gavin Bardwell, who was former Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief of staff, said the comparison is unfortunate if only because Ukraine wants to join the EU precisely. Moreover, voting in a referendum “cannot remotely be compared to risking your life” in a war.
Donald Tusk also reacted negatively. The Pole was president of the European Council in 2016 and in that capacity got Brexit on his plate. “I can still remember the enthusiasm of (Russian President) Putin and (US President) Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words are an insult to the Ukrainians, to the British and to common sense,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.