Boris Johnson is furious after comparing the Ukraine conflict to Brexit

Boris Johnson has been chastised for comparing the struggle of Ukrainians fighting Russia's invasion to the vote for Brexit in the United Kingdom. In a speech, he stated that Britons, like Ukrainians, have the instinct "to choose freedom," citing the 2016 Brexit vote as a "recent example." Former European Council President Donald Tusk called the remarks offensive.

Lord Barwell, a Conservative peer, said voting in a referendum was "in no way comparable to risking your life" in a war. At the same time, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called it an "insult" to Ukrainians. However, he implied that Beijing had "second thoughts" about maintaining its neutral stance.

In a speech to the Traditional  Party's spring conference in Blackpool on Saturday, Mr. Johnson compared the Ukrainians' fight to Brexit. He stated: "I know that the people of this country, like Ukraine, have the instinct to choose freedom every time. I'll give you a couple of well-known recent examples.

"I don't believe the British people voted for Brexit in such large numbers because they were hostile to foreigners. "It's because they desired to be free to do things their way and for this country to be self-sufficient."

Johnson also used British people as an example of people who chose to get vaccinated against coronavirus because they "wanted to get on with their lives" also were "fed up with being told what to do by people like me."

However, his remarks, intended to rally Tory supporters, drew criticism from political figures in the UK and Europe.

Mr. Tusk said on Twitter, "Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, Britons, and common sense." At the same time, Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister and the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, called the comparison "insane."

When asked about Mr. Johnson's comparison of Ukraine's plight to Brexit, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the news Sunday Morning: "I don't think the prime minister was directly comparing these two things - they're not directly analogous."

"He was making broad observations about people's desire for liberty," he explained. Mr. Sunak stated that the prime minister had galvanized global opinion to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin and that "that's what we should be focused on."

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves demanded that the prime minister retract and apologize for his remarks. "The people of Ukraine, who are fighting for their lives - to draw any parallel to voting to leave the European Union is shameless," she told the news.

What motivates Putin? Agents are attempting to gain access to his mind.

"Apart from the awkward fact that the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU and the awkward fact that voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable to risking your life to defend your country against invasion," Lord Barwell, who served as Theresa May's chief of staff in No 10, said.