The West provoked the war in Ukraine, the leader of "Reform UK" said in an interview with the BBC kingdom" Nigel Farage, BNR reported.
He was immediately condemned by the rest of the main British political parties.
When asked by journalist Nick Robinson about Nigel Farage's statement on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, that "this is a consequence of the expansion of the EU and NATO", and whether the politician maintains his opinion, the leader of the "reformers" answered: "We provoked this war", but added that "Putin is to blame.". He emphasized again that he warned the European Parliament back in 2014 about a war in Ukraine, because for him it was an "obvious consequence of the eastward expansion of the two blocs". Farage also said that "his judgment is way ahead of everyone else in understanding the situation".
Home Secretary James Cleverley immediately reacted to Nigel Farage's words on the social network "X", writing: "Farage is simply repeating Putin's vile justification for the brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Shadow Defense Minister John Healy commented that what Farage said was "disgraceful". "These are disgraceful comments that reveal the true face of Nigel Farage: a Putin apologist who should never be trusted with our nation's security," Healey said. He added that until now there had been a united front among Britain's political leaders in support of the people of Ukraine, but now Farage has moved outside of that position and has shown that he "prefers to lick Putin's boots".