Boris Johnson has waded into the latest Donald Trump controversy, calling out the former US president’s wildly inaccurate claim that Ukraine started the war with Russia. Trump, never one to shy away from a headline, also branded Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator and suggested Ukraine should hold elections—despite being under active invasion.
Johnson, however, wasn’t having it, calling Trump’s comments designed to “shock Europeans into action” rather than being remotely factual.
Trump’s latest Ukraine controversy
Speaking earlier this week, Trump sparked outrage by wrongly claiming Kyiv started the war, throwing in a completely false 4% approval rating for Zelensky for good measure. He then doubled down, warning that the Ukrainian leader “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
It didn’t take long for Downing Street to respond, with a spokesperson confirming that Sir Keir Starmer called Zelensky on Wednesday evening to reaffirm support for Ukraine. The UK, Starmer said, understands the need to pause elections during wartime—just as Britain did during World War Two.
Tories split over Trump’s remarks
While some Conservatives defended Ukraine, others seemed keen to remind Europe to “pull its weight.”
- Kemi Badenoch said Trump was right that Europe needed to step up but also insisted Zelensky is a “bravely elected leader” standing up to Putin.
- Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge was more blunt, stating that Putin alone is to blame for the war, calling him the “aggressive dictator” waging an unprovoked attack on a sovereign democracy.
Meanwhile, European leaders are meeting in Paris this week to figure out how to respond to Trump’s increasingly hostile stance towards Ukraine.
Johnson: ‘You might as well say America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor’
Never one to miss an opportunity for a historical comparison, Boris Johnson dismissed Trump’s claims outright:
“Of course Ukraine didn’t start the war. You might as well say that America attacked Japan at Pearl Harbor.”
He also rubbished Trump’s bizarre statistics, pointing out that Zelensky’s actual approval ratings are roughly the same as Trump’s.
But Johnson didn’t stop there. He called out Europe’s slow response to the war, urging them to stop being so easily scandalised by Trump and start focusing on ending the conflict instead.
Peace talks without Ukraine?
If Trump’s remarks weren’t enough, Russia and the US have now started negotiations on a potential peace deal—but without Ukraine at the table.
Talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, took place in Saudi Arabia—without Kyiv or any European nations involved. Unsurprisingly, Zelensky wasn’t impressed, warning that he would “not sell his nation” while Trump and Putin brokered a deal over Ukraine’s head.
Sir Ben Wallace, the former UK defence secretary, wasn’t holding back either, calling the talks “genuine fake news” and suggesting they were a complete waste of time.
Trump ‘rewarding the aggressor’
Sir Sadiq Khan also slammed Trump’s comments, saying it “beggars belief” that the former president is blaming Ukraine instead of Putin. He pointed out that tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees now live in London because of Russia’s invasion.
Meanwhile, Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller compared Trump’s revisionism to “something out of Orwell”, calling it a blatant attempt to rewrite history to please his mate Putin.
‘Trump is talking b****s’**
Former British Army colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon didn’t mince words, telling The Independent that Trump is “being hoodwinked by Putin”.
“I agree with Boris—Trump is talking b******s. He said he’d end the war in 24 hours, but he’s living in some sort of fantasy land while people are dying.”
With Europe under pressure to step up its support, it’s clear that Trump’s comments—and his increasingly Putin-friendly stance—aren’t going unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer heads to Washington next week to push for the UK’s plan to deploy peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. Trump, for his part, supports the British plan—but says America won’t be sending its own troops because “we’re very far away”.
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