Trump ally Nigel Farage finally wades into Zelensky and Ukraine row - with an unconvincing answer

After major UK politicians condemned US president Donald Trump’s remarks about Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky, attention soon turned to one person who was yet to comment either way on the whole situation: Trump ally and Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage.

As a reminder, Trump has been engaged in a back-and-forth with Zelensky this week as he tries to close in on a deal with Russia regarding the Ukraine war, and on Tuesday the Potus sparked international condemnation when he claimed it was Ukraine which “started” the war in its own country, rather than Russian president Vladimir Putin declaring war back in February 2022.

Zelensky clapped back on Wednesday by saying the US president was living in a “disinformation space”, only for the Republican to take to Truth Social to say his Ukrainian counterpart was a “dictator”.

He also claimed Zelensky “refuses to have Elections”, despite the president declaring martial law after his country was illegally invaded by Russia.

On Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said Zelensky was “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”; Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the president was “not a dictator”, Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party Stephen Flynn said Trump’s comments were “repulsive” and Sir Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats said “calling Zelensky a ‘dictator’ must be where the line is drawn”.

With Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer agreeing with Davey early Thursday afternoon, adding that Trump “sank to new depths” with his remarks, Farage became the last leader of a major UK political party to share his thoughts on his friend’s comments.

And that happened when he was finally interviewed about it on GB News later on Thursday, explaining the “delay” was because he has “been on an aeroplane” to the US.

“You should always take everything Donald Trump says seriously, you shouldn’t always take things that Donald Trump says absolutely literally, and I think that applies very much in this case.

“So let’s be clear: Zelensky is not a dictator, but, it’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for an election … There needs to be a timeline so that the Ukrainian people can vote on a peace deal,” he said.

Farage also addressed Trump’s claim about Ukraine being the one which “started” the war and said “Russia is to blame for the invasion, of that there is no doubt”.

But Farage distancing himself from the US president’s remarks have left people unconvinced and unimpressed:

One Twitter/X user branded the Clacton MP a “desperate apologist”:

Conservative commentator Dan Hodges, meanwhile, criticised Farage’s “ridiculous” comments in response to the argument that no election was held during the Second World War, with the ex-Ukip leader stating Britain was “still at war with Japan” when it had the general election in 1945:

Even GB News presenter Tom Harwood challenged Farage on the claim, saying the 1945 vote happened “after VE [Victory in Europe] Day, before VJ [Victory over Japan] Day”.

Elsewhere, Ed Davey said Farage “sounds like a spokesman for Trump” and “certainly doesn’t speak for Britain”:

And in other news, Reform UK announced on Thursday that it is now finally a non-profit, with Farage having “handed over ownership” of the party “to its members”.

In a statement, party chairman Zia Yusuf said: “Reform UK is now a non-profit, with no shareholders, limited by guarantee.

“We are assembling the governing Board, in line with the constitution. This was an important step in professionalising the party.”

Before this, Reform UK was actually an “entrepreneurial political start-up” and company, with Farage – who is still yet to face a leadership election – being the company’s director and majority shareholder.

Why not read…

• Donald Trump called himself ‘the king’ and now he’s facing backlash
• Mike Pence ‘owns’ Donald Trump with surprise Ukraine intervention – and everyone’s saying the same thing
• Trump slammed over Zelensky ‘dictator’ swipe as ‘dangerous’ comments criticised

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.