Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko defends Boris over the confected outrage following his Sunday spring forum speech:

“I was sitting in the front row when I listened to it,”

“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.”

The Ukrainian ambassador was up before the Home Affairs Select Committee this morning, spelling out a few truths about the state of refugees flowing from the wartorn country. While he says as many as 100,000 could try coming to the UK, the vast bulk will want to stay close to Ukraine:

“The natural place for Ukrainians is close to where most of the Slavic tribes [are] if I may put this… like Poland and Slovakia where people do not have any language barrier… who understand the cultural, the religious… most Ukrainians will stay close to their homes to their roots”.

He also said he’s “scared” by the policy of giving Ukrainian refugees in the UK three years to stay here as he hopes they won’t be at war for such a long period of time and the country needs its people to return as soon as possible to “rebuild our nation and repopulate it back”. Asked whether the UK should be sending planes to Ukraine’s neighbours to bring back refugees, Prystaiko quipped “if you want to send planes send F-16s”…