The West “provoked” the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nigel Farage has said. The Telegraph has more.
The leader of Reform U.K. said that the expansion of Nato and the European Union gave Vladimir Putin “an excuse” to go to war with Ukraine.
In an interview with BBC Panorama, Mr. Farage said: “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 [turn to] his Russian people to say, ‘They’re coming for us again’, and to go to war.”
He added: “Hang on a second, we provoked this war. It’s – you know, of course it’s his fault, he’s used what we’ve done as an excuse.”
Asked by Nick Robinson if he meant that “we provoked the invasion of Ukraine”, he replied: “Yes.”
Questioned about previous comments that he “admired” Putin, Mr. Farage clarified that he admired him as “a political operator because he’s managed to take control of running Russia”.
Hmm, not sure Putin’s brutal and dishonest methods of “taking control of Russia” are something to “admire”, Nigel. Might want to rethink that one.
What do you think – did the West “provoke” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or is that just playing into Putin’s hands?
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