Farage Doubles Down

Nigel Farage has defended his claim that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following condemnation from leaders across the political spectrum.

Writing in the Telegraph, the Reform UK leader said he had never been an “apologist or supporter of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” but that “if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds”.

In an earlier BBC Panorama interview, Mr Farage said the war was “of course” Mr Putin’s fault but that the expansion of the EU and Nato had given him a reason to tell the Russian people “they’re coming for us again”.

Responding to the interview, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the comment was “completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands,” accusing Mr Farage of “appeasement” that was “dangerous for Britain’s security”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described the comments as “disgraceful”, while Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called Mr Farage “an apologist for Putin”. The SNP said it was “an insult to all Ukrainians who have suffered.”

In his Telegraph piece, Mr Farage wrote: “Don’t blame me for telling the truth about Putin’s war in Ukraine,” adding that he wanted to “set the record straight”.

“[The] invasion of Ukraine was immoral, outrageous and indefensible. As a champion of national sovereignty, I believe that Putin was entirely wrong to invade the sovereign nation of Ukraine,” he wrote.

“Nobody can fairly accuse me of being an appeaser. I have never sought to justify Putin’s invasion in any way and I’m not now.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that I saw it coming a decade ago, warned that it was coming and am one of the few political figures who has been consistently right and honest about Russia’s Ukraine war.

“As I have made clear on multiple occasions since then, if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds. And if you have neither the means nor the political will to face him down, poking a bear is obviously not good foreign policy.”

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