Shoot down Russian jets in NATO airspace, says Farage as Reform leader toughens up stance on Putin
Mr Farage called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "irrational" and suggested that he would allow frozen Russian assets to be sent to Ukraine if he becomes Prime Minister
Nigel Farage has backed shooting down Russian jets that enter Nato airspace as he toughens up his party's stance on Putin.
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Speaking to Bloomberg, the Reform UK leader called Vladimir Putin "irrational" and suggested that he would allow frozen Russian assets to be sent to Ukraine if he becomes Prime Minister.
Mr Farage, whose party is leading in opinion polls, used the interview to tackle criticism that he and Reform are soft on Russia.
After being asked about Russian aircraft above Nato members, Mr Farage bluntly said: “Gotta shoot them down.”
Russian drones and jets have been detected above four Nato countries in recent weeks.
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He added: “Clearly, Putin is not a rational man. The idea that I’m soft on this is just nonsense.”
But while talking tough on Russia, he also repeated claims that eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union had provoked the war in Ukraine.
On the current discussion on whether US President Donald Trump, an ally of Mr Farage, should send long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, the Reform leader said: “I was really hoping that Trump would bring Putin to heel, that some kind of compromise could be struck, as it’s just been recently struck with Gaza and Israel. Clearly, that is not going to happen.”
“I suspect what you will see over the course of the coming months, the Americans beginning to deliver Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv,” Farage said. “I think Trump feels that Putin has made a fool of him.”
The interview with Farage comes after Trump held a phone call with Putin, who reportedly agreed to a new round of negotiations between the US and Russia in an attempt to end the war in Ukraine.
The two leaders are set to meet in Hungary in the coming weeks.