Nigel Farage’s claims that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been condemned by leaders across the political spectrum.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the comments were “completely wrong and playing into Putin’s hands”, accusing the Reform UK leader of pursuing “a policy of appeasement that is dangerous to Britain’s national security”.
Speaking to BBC Panorama, Mr Farage said that “of course” President Vladimir Putin was to blame for the war, but that the expansion of the EU and NATO had given Russians a reason to say “they’re going to attack us again”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the comments as “disgraceful”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called Mr Farage a “Putin apologist”, and the Scottish National Party (SNP) said it was “an insult to all the Ukrainian people who have suffered”.
- author, Brian Wheeler
- role, Political reporter
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During a campaign visit to London, Sunak said: [Mr Farage] It’s completely wrong and just what Putin wants.”
He added: “This is a man. [Mr Putin] With Putin using nerve gas on British streets and conducting business with countries like North Korea, this appeasement policy is dangerous to Britain’s security, the security of our allies who rely on Britain, and will only embolden Putin further.”
Meanwhile, Sir Keir said “Putin bears full responsibility” for the invasion of Ukraine, adding: “Anyone who wants to stand for representation in our Parliament should make it very clear that we oppose that invasion.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “As I travel around the country, in cities, towns and villages, British people are flying the Ukrainian flag as a symbol of unity and hope for the future.”
“Nigel Farage has proven he is on the side of Putin and not on the side of freedom.”
The SNP’s Brendan O’Hara told The National: “By defending the indefensible, Mr Farage has once again shown how out of touch his views are with Scottish voters.”
Speaking to Panorama, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader was questioned by Nick Robinson about past comments he has made about Putin.
“I said I dislike him as a person, but I respect him as a statesman who has succeeded in controlling the running of Russia,” he replied.
“It has been clear for years that the continued eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union is giving this man an excuse to start a war by encouraging the Russian people to say, ‘They’re coming at us again,'” he said.
Pressed further, he added: “We started this war. You know, of course he’s to blame. He used our actions as an excuse.”
After the interview aired on Friday, Mr Farage, a former member of the European Parliament, said on X that he was “one of the few people who has been consistently honest about the war with Russia”.
Along with his new statement, he reposted a speech he gave to the European Parliament in 2014, in which he called on Western countries to “stop playing war games with Putin.”
Labour’s shadow defence secretary, John Healey, said the comments made the Reform UK leader “unfit to hold any political office in our country, let alone lead a serious political party in Parliament”.
The Ukrainian presidential office told the BBC there would be no official statement about Mr Farage’s comments.
But the presidential source warned of “the virus of Putinism and the rise of war propaganda”, adding that “the task of civilised humanity is to prevent this virus from spreading”.
Reform UK is catching up with the Conservative Party in opinion polls after Farage announced he was returning to the forefront of politics as party leader just after the start of the general election campaign.
The prime minister has said his goal is for the Reform Party to replace the Conservatives as the official opposition to Labour. He has said he is certain Labour will take power on July 4, but opinion polls suggest the party may only win a handful of seats in the upcoming election.
