HomeGamblingNigel Farage doubles down on ‘disgraceful’ Ukraine invasion remarks

Nigel Farage doubles down on ‘disgraceful’ Ukraine invasion remarks

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Nigel Farage has doubled down on his comments that the west “provoked” Vladimir Putin into ordering his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Reform UK leader, writing in a column piece for The Telegraph, wrote that he could not be “blamed for telling the truth about Putin’s war”.

“What I have been saying for the past 10 years is that the West has played into Putin’s hands, giving him the excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway,” he wrote.

The Downing Street hopeful declined, however, to offer any alternative to the current backing of Ukraine and the offer of Nato and European Union membership.

British figures from across the political spectrum criticised Mr Farage’s original comments. Prime minister Rishi Sunak said the Reform leader was “playing into Putin’s hands”, while Sir Keir Stamer said it is “really clear that Russia is the aggressor” in the war on Ukraine.

Ben Wallace, the former defence minister and well-known advocate for Ukraine, described Mr Farage as a “pub bore”.

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Watch: Sunak accuses Farage of ‘playing into Putin’s hands’ with Ukraine comments

Sunak accuses Farage of ‘playing into Putin’s hands’ with Ukraine comments

Rishi Sunak has accused Nigel Farage of “playing into [Vladimir] Putin’s hands” with his claim that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Reform UK leader claimed “we provoked this war” in a BBC Panorama interview, while drawing a link between Nato and European Union expansion in recent decades and the conflict in eastern Europe. Mr Farage’s claim was “completely wrong,” the prime minister told reporters on Saturday, 22 June. “This is a man [Mr Putin] who deployed nerve agent on the streets of Britain, who is doing deals with countries like North Korea, and this kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, the security of our allies that rely on us, and only emboldens Putin further,” Mr Sunak added.

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Farage doubles down on comments that West ‘provoked’ Russia into invading Ukraine

Nigel Farage has doubled down on comments that the West “provoked” Russia into invading Ukraine, claiming that he shouldn’t be “blamed for telling the truth”.

In a comment piece forThe Telegraph, he claimed that he was not a “mouthpiece” for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, before repeating that he knew the war would happen back in 2014.

“There is no easy solution to the war,” he wrote. “But facing up to the truth about the causes and consequences must be a start.

“That is why I simply want to tell it as it is, and have done for a decade. Those slanderers who claim that telling the truth makes me a “mouthpiece for Putin” only reveal the weakness of their own case.”

He did not, however, offer any alternative policy for the war in Ukraine, despite claiming that he was being valiant in not conforming to popular backing of the invaded country.

Nigel Farage has been accused of being a Putin apologist (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA)
Nigel Farage has been accused of being a Putin apologist (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) (PA Media)

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