The West “provoked” Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine, Nigel Farage has claimed.
The Reform UK leader said the eastward expansion of the European Union and Nato had provided the Russian leader with a “reason” to make the case for war to his people.
He made the incendiary comments in an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson.
The Today programme presenter also pointed out that Farage had previously spoken of how he “admired” Putin.
“When Vladimir Putin sends his troops across the border into Ukraine in ’22, you blamed the West, not him,” said Robinson.
“You said on a tweet, ‘it was a consequence of EU and NATO expansion’. Is that a judgement you stand by?”
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 got to his Russian people to say ‘they’re coming for us again’, and to go to war.”
He added: “We provoked this war ... of course, it’s his fault, he’s used what we’ve done as an excuse.
“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.”
Farage’s comments were criticised by home secretary James Cleverly, who accused him of “echoing Putin’s vile justification for the brutal invasion of Ukraine”.