Nigel Farage blames the West for Ukraine war on BBC TV

The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage faced fury as he suggested the West was to blame for Russia invading Ukraine, writes ‘The Daily Mail’.

The Reform UK leader made the extraordinary claim that NATO and the EU 'provoked' Vladimir Putin in an interview for the BBC's Panorama election specials.

Grilled by presenter Nick Robinson, Mr Farage insisted the eastward 'expansion' of the Western alliance and political bloc had 'given a reason' for the Russian president to attack. 

Mr Farage also spoke of his 'admiration' for Putin as a 'political operator - while blustering that he was not 'echoing' his propaganda and stressing that he 'disliked him as a person'.

Mr Farage claimed earlier this month that Ukraine will eventually have to seek a peace deal with Russia – but his latest comments on Panorama, being broadcast in full at 7pm this evening, go further.

In the Panorama interview, Mr Farage was challenged by Robinson that in February 2022, as the latest intense phase of the invasion began, he posted on social media that 'it was a consequence of EU and NATO expansion'.

Mr Farage replied: 'I stood up in the European Parliament in 2014 and I said, and I quote, ''there will be a war in Ukraine''.

'Why did I say that? it was obvious to me that the ever-eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union was giving this man a reason to his Russian people to say, ''They're coming for us again'', and to go to war.'

Pressed on whether he stood by that assessment, Mr Farage said 'we provoked this war'.

'It's – you know, of course it's his fault, he's used what we've done as an excuse,' he said.

Braced again on whether he believed the West had 'provoked' the invasion, Mr Farage said: 'Yes, and very interestingly, once again, 10 years ago when I predicted this – by the way, I'm the only person in British politics that predicted what would happen - and of course everyone said I was a pariah for daring to suggest it.'

He added: 'My judgement has been way ahead of everybody else's in understanding this.'

Mr Farage claimed earlier this month that Ukraine will eventually have to seek a peace deal with Russia

Speaking as Reform outlined its defence plans earlier this month, he said negotiations with the Kremlin – which could lead to the partitioning of Ukraine – were inevitable.

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