THE president of Ukraine has said he is “very happy” that Boris Johnson survived an attempt by rebel MPs to remove him from office.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Prime Minister was a “true friend of his country”.

He said: “I am glad we have not lost a very important ally.”

Despite his low standing in the polls at home, Mr Johnson is hugely popular in Ukraine because of the UK’s early support for the country against Russia’s invasion.

British-supplied weapons have been a key component of Ukraine’s defence.

Mr Johnson won a confidence vote among his MPs by 211 to 148 on Monday night.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, one of President Zelenskyy's advisers, tweeted in English moments after the result: "Leadership is always a heavy burden. 

“Boris Johnson was one of the first who realized the menace of Russia & stood by Volodymyr Zelensky to protect the free world from barbaric invasion.

"The world needs such leaders. The UK is a Great friend of Ukraine. British crown is a shield of democratic world."

Although a clear majority of the 359-strong Conservative parliamentary party backed Mr Johnson, the margin of victory was far smaller than his supporters expected.

In 2018, the Prime Minister Theresa May won a confidence vote after getting the backing of 63 per cent of her MPs, but quit six months later.

Mr Johnson was backed by just 59% of his MPs.

Former Tory leader Lord Hague said the unprecedented level of rejection meant the Prime Minister should stand down. 

A Ukrainian MP today said her country was “truly grateful” for the UK’s donation of long-range missiles but more air support wa needed to compete with Russia.

The UK is to send its first long-range missiles to Ukraine after Russia struck the outskirts of Kyiv for the first time since April.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain would send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can fire precision-guided rockets up to 50 miles – a longer range than any missile technology currently in use in the war.

“That will actually make a difference on the battlefield,” Inna Sovsun, deputy leader of the Holos Party, told the PA news agency.

“If it did come earlier we would have saved so much life and so much less damage would have been done.

“It’s a good start and we truly appreciate it, everybody in Ukraine knows about that and we are truly grateful for that actually happening.

“You have to realise that right now what is happening there is a battle of artillery, the one who has more artillery will win, and Ukraine unfortunately doesn’t have as much artillery to fight against the Russian artillery."

Ukrainian troops will be trained in the UK to use the equipment.

Mr Boris Johnson said the systems will help Ukraine “effectively repel the continuing Russian onslaught”.

But Ms Sovsun said Ukraine was still in need of fighter jets, adding “we don’t have the air support that we need”.

The Ministry of Defence said the decision to provide the launchers was closely co-ordinated with the US government, which said it will supply high mobility artillery rocket systems to Ukraine.

When the US announced it will be sending the missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to hit new targets.

“If they are delivered, we will draw appropriate conclusions from this and use our weapons, which we have enough of, to strike at those objects that we have not yet hit,” he said in an interview with state TV channel Russia-1, which was filmed on Friday.

Ms Sovsun however said that Mr Putin’s threats did not change the situation for Ukraine.

She said: “He is saying ‘I will attack you if you get the weapons from the West’, but he will attack us anyway.”