Nigel Farage is facing a growing backlash after he said the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine.
Mr Farage, who has previously come under fire for saying he admired Vladimir Putin, later said that “of course” the with Kyiv.
But the Reform UK leader maintained that the “ever-eastward expansion” of NATO and the European Union had given the Kremlin “an excuse” to move troops across the border.
Mr Farage’s comments put him at odds with the leaders of other major parties, including the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
He told LBC: “I would say the comments from Farage are disgraceful and I think everybody who stands for office in our parliament ought to be clear that we stand with Ukraine, that Russia is the aggressor and Putin bears the responsibility for Russian aggression and will be held to account for it.
“We see this on the battlefield, we see it online and we have to be resolute in defending ourselves against Russian aggression and that means standing with Ukraine, defending Ukraine, supporting Ukraine but also supporting our own freedom and democracy and that’s why I’ve aways said we have got an unshakeable commitment to Nato, an unshakeable commitment to freedom and democracy which was won – hard won – by those who came before us.”
Earlier this morning, Rishi Sunak said this morning that the comments were “completely wrong” and “play into Putin’s hands”.
The Prime Minister told reporters: “What he said was completely wrong and only plays into (Vladimir) Putin’s hands. “This is a man who deployed nerve agents on the streets of Britain, who’s doing deals with countries like North Korea.
“And this kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, the security of our allies that rely on us and only emboldens Putin further.”
Earlier this morning, Labour’s Steve Reed told LBC that Mr Farage is “bending over” for Putin.
He told Matthew Wright: “I was absolutely shocked to hear Nigel Farage say what he said. We all saw what Putin did, a brutal, illegal, unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country.
“And instead of standing firm with Western allies, and telling Vladimir Putin no more, there we see Farage kowtowing to the man, bending over in front of him and kissing his boots.
“If you do that to a brutal dictator they will invade again. It’s so important we stand up to this kind of behaviour if we want to protect the freedom we enjoy across the Western world.”
On Friday, the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, accused Mr Farage of “echoing Putin”, while Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, today said the Reform UK leader was a “pub bore” over the comments.
Military analyst brands Nigel Farage a ‘wannabe politician’ after Russia comments
Speaking in a Panorama interview on Friday evening, 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 his Russian people to say, ‘They’re coming for us again,’ and to go to war.”
Speaking today, Sunak also responded to Mr Farage’s claims that he “does not understand our culture”.
The Reform UK leader made the suggestion after the Prime Minister left the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy before the main international event.
Speaking to broadcasters during an campaign visit in London, Mr Sunak said: “I love this country deeply for what it has done for my family.
“My grandparents emigrated here with very little and two generations later I have the enormous privilege of being our Prime Minister.
“And that’s why I will work my hardest to repay this country for everything that it has done for my family.”
