In the United Kingdom, recent comments made by Nigel Farage from the nationalist Reform UK party have been met with widespread condemnation. The right-wing populist politician stirred controversy when he claimed on the BBC, less than two weeks before the parliamentary elections, that the West had “provoked” the war in Ukraine.
Farage, known for his role in the Brexit campaign, argued that his warnings to the European Parliament since 2014 about a potential war in Ukraine had gone unheeded. He believed that the expansion of NATO and the European Union eastward had given Russian President Vladimir Putin the opportunity to justify starting a war by claiming that they were targeting Russia.
These statements by Farage were immediately rebutted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who deemed them “completely untrue.” Sunak criticized Farage for playing into Putin’s hands and described the comments as dangerous for the security of the UK and its allies. Opposition leaders, including Labor’s Keir Starmer and Liberal Party’s Ed Davey, also denounced Farage’s remarks as outrageous.
Overall, Farage’s comments have sparked anger and concern in the UK as politicians and
