What exactly did Nigel Farage say in his public defence of Vladimir Putin and when was it made?
Executive summary
Nigel Farage publicly defended aspects of Vladimir Putin’s actions by arguing that “the ever eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union” provoked Russia and “gave him an excuse” to invade Ukraine; he also wrote in the Telegraph and said he was “not an apologist or supporter of Putin,” adding “if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds” [1] [2]. The most prominent defence and clarification appeared in June 2024 — including a Telegraph article and broadcast interviews around 21–22 June 2024 — and was followed by repeated restatements and clarifications in subsequent months and years [2] [3] [4].
1. What Farage actually said and where he said it
Farage argued publicly that NATO and EU expansion had provoked Russia and “gave [Putin] an excuse” to launch the full‑scale invasion of Ukraine — a formulation reported as coming in comments and a Telegraph column in June 2024 [1] [2]. In those same exchanges he insisted he was “not an apologist or supporter of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” while warning that “if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised if he responds” [2].
2. The timing: June 2024 and follow‑up appearances
The immediate surge of coverage and condemnation followed Farage’s June 2024 comments and a Telegraph piece dated 22 June 2024; BBC and other outlets reported and challenged him around 21–22 June 2024 [2]. He later “doubled down” on the core claim in July 2024, reiterating that the West had “played into Putin’s hands” and stressing he was not an “appeaser” [3].
3. How Farage framed his view: operator vs. human being
Farage has long distinguished between personal dislike for Putin and admiration of him “as an operator.” Reporting and fact‑checks note he has said he admires Putin’s political tactics (for example in Syria) while disliking him personally and not wanting to live in Russia — comments traced back to 2013 and repeated publicly since [4] [5].
4. Immediate political reaction and labels used by critics
Political opponents and commentators framed Farage’s comments as either apologetic for Russia or dangerously sympathetic to Putin. Coverage quoted Labour and other critics saying Farage had “proved he is on the side of Putin” or called him “Putin’s poodle,” while Farage and allies insisted his posture was realist critique of Western policy rather than support for the Kremlin [2] [1].
5. Media summaries and fact‑checking of specific quotations
PA Media’s fact check records the precise phrasing Farage used in broadcasts and notes his repeated defence that he admired Putin “as an operator but not as a human being” — this corroborates contemporaneous BBC and Panorama references and shows the comments were not a one‑off misquote [4] [2].
6. Evolution of his rhetoric after criticism
After the June 2024 backlash Farage continued to press the same underlying argument — that Western expansion and policy mistakes helped provoke Russia — while insisting he was no apologist for Putin. Later media appearances and reporting through 2025 show him both defending that line and, at times, using tougher language toward Putin when politically expedient [3] [6].
7. Competing interpretations in the coverage
Some outlets frame Farage’s remarks as a candid statement of geopolitical causation — attributing part of the conflict to Western policy choices [1] — while others frame them as reckless or apologetic for a violent autocrat [2] [3]. The sources show both narratives: Farage’s own emphases on causation and operator‑admiration, and opponents’ characterisations of that stance as pro‑Putin.
8. What the sources do not say
Available sources do not mention any single, isolated quote in which Farage directly defended Putin’s invasion as justified or said he supported the use of force; instead, they repeatedly record the causal argument about NATO/EU expansion and his claim not to be an apologist [2] [1] [4]. They also do not provide verbatim text of every broadcast exchange; for some interviews the reporting gives paraphrase and selective quotation [2] [3].
9. Why this matters politically
The controversy matters because opponents use Farage’s phrasing about NATO and EU expansion to argue he is soft on Russia; Farage’s clarification that he “dislikes [Putin] as a human being” and “is not an apologist” has not ended the political damage, and his repeated warnings about “poking the Russian bear” remain central to critiques that he echoes Kremlin talking points [2] [5] [1].
If you want, I can extract the full verbatim sentences as reported in each source (Telegraph extract, BBC Panorama paraphrase, PA fact‑check quotes) and lay them side‑by‑side with source citations.