A GOVERNMENT minister has been mocked for claiming Ukrainians are shouting “God save the Queen” while firing at Russian tanks.
Foreign Office minister James Cleverly made the extraordinary comment in parliament today during a debate on Ukraine.
The senior Tory was praising Britain for providing arms to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s troops when he said he had “heard anecdotally” Ukrainian troops were praising Queen Elizabeth while firing at the Russian advance.
Tory minister James Cleverly just claimed that Ukrainian soldiers have been shouting 'God Save the Queen' on the battlefield ... pic.twitter.com/XwycnMls8t
— The National (@ScotNational) March 15, 2022
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He was responding to a comment from the Tory MP for North Wiltshire James Gray, who said: “One of the lighter moments in an otherwise extremely bleak military picture in Ukraine was the destruction of Russian tanks using, presumably, UK [next generation light anti-tank weapon] missiles”.
Cleverly responded: “I am very very proud that we play an incredibly important part.”
His remarks were met with mockery online by people claiming the minister had made up the claims.
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And SNP MP Pete Wishart said he was in “disbelief” over the remarks.
Adam Schwartz, a writer and entrepreneur, said: “I'm pretty sure they're shouting 'Slava Ukraini', James.”
He added: “This kind of bragging is shockingly poor taste when it's Ukrainians who are bearing the real and tragic costs of defending their homeland.”
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