CNN
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Nigel Farage, a figurehead of the British populist right, has caused outrage among his political opponents by saying that the West “provoked” the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Farage, leader of the fast-growing political party Reform UK and a key figure in Brexit, is seeking his first seat in Parliament in next month’s general election.
During an interview with the BBC on Friday, Farage was asked whether he stood by a February 2022 tweet that described Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine as “a consequence of EU and NATO enlargement.”
“Why did I say that? It was obvious to me that the ever eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union gave this man (Putin) a reason to tell his Russian people they are after us again and to go to war,” he told the BBC’s Nick Robinson.
“We provoked this war – of course it is his fault – he used what we did as a pretext,” he said.
Farage – a former EU parliamentarian – claimed he was “the only person in British politics” to predict the invasion of Ukraine.
After his BBC appearance, Farage addressed X and clarified his comments. “I am one of the few people who has been consistent and honest about the war with Russia,” he wrote. “Putin’s invasion of a sovereign country was wrong and the EU was wrong to expand eastward.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responded to the comments to reporters today. “What he said was completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands,” Sunak said. “This kind of appeasement is dangerous for the security of Britain.”
British Home Secretary James Cleverly said on X that Farage was “repeating Putin’s vile justification for the brutal invasion of Ukraine”.
Former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace commented on Farage’s comments on the BBC’s “Today” programme, describing the reformist leader as “a bit like the pub bore we’ve all met at the end of the bar, who often says, ‘Oh no, if I were running the country’ and gives very simplistic answers to – I’m afraid in the 21st century they are actually complex problems.”
The opposition Labour Party, which overwhelmingly expects to return to power next month according to polls, also commented.
“These are disgraceful comments that reveal the true face of Nigel Farage: a Putin apologist who should never be trusted with the security of our country,” wrote John Healey, Labour MP and shadow defence secretary.
He added that Farage had “shown that he would rather lick Vladimir Putin’s boots than stand up for the Ukrainian people.”
