Ms Sturgeon said it would be “overstating things” to possibly compare her desire to become independent from the UK to Putin’s bloody war to take control of Kyiv. The Scottish First Minister made her comments after the SNP’s president, Mike Russell, sparked outrage by linking the two events.
He used a blog on the party’s website to draw parallels.
“The right of people to choose how they are governed and by whom is an absolute and must be universally applied, respecting each and every democratic mandate,” he wrote.
“Nor can that right be circumscribed by history – just because something was, doesn’t mean it will always continue to be so, whether that be rule from Moscow or the result of an eight-year-old referendum.”
The blog post was titled “Three things Scotland must consider in its response to the Ukraine invasion”.
READ MORE ON OUR RUSSIA V UKRAINE WAR LIVE BLOG
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie described the comments as “crass”.
He said: “Likening the longevity of the 2014 referendum result in any way to rule from Moscow is one of the stupider things I have heard from a senior SNP figure.
“It is utterly crass to draw any parallels between what is going on in Ukraine to Scotland’s situation, when people in Ukraine are fighting and dying to avoid falling under the yolk of the Kremlin.”
Asked for her view of the comments yesterday, Ms Sturgeon rejected the comparison made by her close colleague.
“There is no connection between a war in Ukraine and the support and campaign for independence in Scotland,” she said.
“What I think should unite all of us right now are some fundamental values, the values that underpin I think much of our democracy in Scotland – and certainly underpin my party and the independence movement.”
READ MORE: Putin pulls trigger: Thousands of Russian troops descend on Ukraine
Putin’s forces have fired more than 480 missiles in the invasion so far.
As well as Mr Russell, SNP MSP Michelle Thomson has also sparked outrage this week by comparing Scotland to Ukraine.
She apologised after tweeting that Ukraine’s emergency application for EU membership for help in the face of Russian aggression “just goes to show what political will can achieve”.
She added: “Remember this Scotland!”
After her social media post sparked fury, she deleted the message.
In a follow up post, she said: “I noted and then tweeted something earlier that was insensitive regarding Ukraine.
“Like everyone, my first thoughts are sympathy for the people there.
“Apologies if I offended anyone.”
