The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK has defended Boris Johnson over a row prompted by his apparent comparison of Brexit to Ukraine’s resistance against Russia, saying both involved freedom. 

The Prime Minister used his speech at the Conservative Party’s spring conference to suggest the Ukrainian people’s fight against the invasion was shared by Brexiteers who wanted “to be free to do things differently”.

The comments were condemned by Labour, some Conservatives and European politicians including Petro Poroshenko, a former president of Ukraine. 

However, on Wednesday Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, said both the UK and Ukraine wanted the freedom to leave different unions.

“I was sitting in the front row when I listened to it,” he told Sky News. “I didn’t see this reaction coming. Because what we heard in the room, what I heard myself, is that actually we are fighting for freedom – the freedom to do what the nation wants to do.

“If you wanted to leave the European Union, that’s your own sovereign decision. We respected it. We would like you to be in the European Union, but we respect this decision.”