Nigel Farage wasn’t wrong to say that the West provoked Russia’s invasion of UKraine, Zia Yusuf has said. Reform UK’s chairman also hit back over claims about the party’s close links to the Kremlin.
He said “it is for the birds” to think that the “murderous dictator” Vladimir Putin is making decisions based on what Mr Farage says. His staunch defence came during a furious clash on Sky News the Trevor Phillips Show.
The pair clashed when Mr Yusuf was also confronted about his party’s alleged links to the Kremlin.
Last month, former Reform UK leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, pleaded guilty to bribery charges relating to statements in favour of Russia in the European Parliament.
Mr Farage has also faced repeated criticism over his comments in 2014 where he said Putin was the current world leader he admired the most, “as an operator, but not as a human being”.
He has also suggested the West “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by expanding the European Union and Nato military alliance eastwards.
Mr Yusuf said: “We know we are now in a situation where Ukraine’s sovereignty has been violated.
“Vladimir Putin needs to be brought to heel, and that’s what we need to focus but I want to give you the opportunity to be absolutely crystal clear, sure, because if I were watching this in Moscow, I’d already been writing down oh, he supported the phrase we the West provoked the war, and that comes from a leading a leading figure in the party that is leading the polls in the United Kingdom.”
He added: “Nigel has been on the record two weeks ago saying that if he was a prime minister and Russian planes encroached into NATO airspace, he, as prime minister, would suggest that those be shot down.
“I don’t know how much clearer we can be.”
