Ukraine's president has criticised Reform UK after councils controlled by the party removed the Ukrainian flag from civic buildings. Speaking during a visit to London, Volodymyr Zelensky took aim at the move, which saw the councils opt to fly only local flags and the union flag in place of Ukraine's. He framed the decision as more significant than it might appear, calling it a small mistake that can break a big deal, and pointing to what he described as a big friendship between the two countries.
The flag policy at the centre of the row is a deliberate one for the party. Under the councils it controls, Reform UK has moved to limit which flags are flown above public buildings. The party's position is that government buildings should display a defined set of flags rather than those of other nations, a stance that left the Ukrainian flag among those taken down and turned a question of symbolism into a political argument.
It is not the first time the Ukrainian leader has clashed with the party. Zelensky has previously criticised Reform UK, and at one point accused its leader, Nigel Farage, of being infected with the virus of Putin. That earlier attack followed comments Farage had made about the war in Ukraine, and it set the tone for the latest exchange over the flags now flying, or no longer flying, over British council buildings.
Reform UK pushed back through one of its local figures. George Finch, the Reform leader of Warwickshire County Council, defended the approach, arguing that only three flags should fly from the council's buildings and those of other councils the party controls: the union flag, the St George's flag and the county flag. He said government buildings were paid for by taxpayers and should not be used to display the flags of other nations.
Finch insisted the policy did not signal any lack of support for Ukraine. He argued that genuine backing was shown through actions rather than symbols, noting that the United Kingdom had trained Ukrainian troops and worked alongside them. In his view, that kind of practical help, rather than a flag flown over a county council, was the meaningful form of support for an ally at war.
He also said he had spoken with members of the Ukrainian community about the decision, and that some had told him they would not expect to see a union flag or a St George's flag flown in Ukraine. The emphasis, he said, should be on supporting people at home first, and on focusing local councils on local priorities rather than on conflicts elsewhere in Europe.
The dispute landed against the backdrop of a wider argument over foreign voices in British politics. Only last week, Downing Street had criticised commentary on UK politics from abroad, accusing the United States vice-president, JD Vance, of trying to interfere in the country's democracy and stir up division. The contrast left the question of when outside intervention in British political debate is welcomed, and when it is resented, hanging over the latest row.