West 'provoked' Russia-Ukraine war, says UK's Nigel Farage

British politician Nigel Farage made a huge claimthat, while the Ukraine conflict is Russian President Vladimir Putin's fault, the West "provoked this war".

Speaking at the BBC Panorama show, the Reform UK leader said he had been warning about conflict with Russia since 2014. He also added that the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union gave Putin "an excuse" to go to war with Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine War, which started on February 24, 2022, is an ongoing conflict that has dramatically reshaped the global geopolitical landscape. The war started after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

So far in the war, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed. The humanitarian crisis has deepened with millions of Ukrainians being displaced, both internally and as refugees in neighboring countries and beyond.

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Farage said during the interview: "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 [Putin] a reason 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."

On being specifically asked by the interviewer if he meant that "we provoked the invasion of Ukraine", Farage replied: "Yes."

UK politicians and several experts have accused Farage of being an apologist for Putin. He was even asked about his beliefs over the invasion of Ukraine and his stated admiration for Putin.

Farage said that he disliked the Russian president personally. However, he admitted that he "admired him as a political operator" because of theextent of his control over Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)