Ukraine’s president ‘very happy’ that Boris Johnson survived no-confidence vote

Volodymyr Zelensky gives prime minister a boost, saying: ‘I am glad we have not lost a very important ally’

Ukraine’s president says he is “very happy” that Boris Johnson survived the attempt by Tory MPs to remove him from power, in a boost for the prime minister.

Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Mr Johnson as “a true friend of Ukraine”, adding: “I am glad we have not lost a very important ally.”

As Conservatives weighed up whether to demand the no-confidence vote, the prime minister urged them to recognise the leadership he has shown over war in Ukraine.

Some of his opponents dismissed the argument that a leader could not be replaced during the crisis – pointing to cross-party agreement that the country should receive arms and support.

But Mr Zelensky has now backed up the claim by Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, that the president would be “punching the air” that Mr Johnson won the vote.

“I am very happy about this,” he said, adding: “Boris is supporting us. Boris is very concrete in supporting Ukraine.”

The welcome for the stability in No 10 came as he told journalists that his country had already lost too many people to cede any of its territory to Russia.

The president accused Moscow of stealing Ukrainian grain and called for all Russian banks to be shut out of the Swift financial transactions network.

However, the narrow no-confidence result – which saw 148 Tory MPs vote against their own prime minister – is widely seen as only a stay of execution, before another likely contest in the autumn.

It is significantly higher than the 120-130 rebels that were widely expected – and a far worse result than when Theresa May faced a similar contest in 2018.

Mr Johnson underlined his stance as Europe’s chief hawk against Russia’s assault on Ukraine, in an apparent swipe at Emmanuel Macron for his attempts to broker peace.

He told a cabinet meeting that Mr Zelensky must not be “pressured into accepting a bad peace, noting that bad peace deals do not last”.

The prime minister’s spokesman said: “He said the world must avoid any outcome where Putin’s unwarranted aggression appears to have paid off.”

As Mr Johnson seeks to shore up his precarious position, Downing Street also insisted there are “no plans currently” for a reshuffle of his ministers.

The spokesman insisted he “has a mandate to continue and focus on the issues that matter to the public and that’s what you saw this morning”.

Asked whether Mr Johnson was investigating whether any ministers voted against him, the spokesman said it was “deliberately an anonymous process by design”.

The government is expected to attempt a relaunch by confirming long-trailed plans to extend the right-to-buy to hundreds of thousands of housing association tenants.

And controversial legislation to override the Northern Ireland Protocol – risking a damaging trade war with the EU – is also anticipated within days,