Reform UK leader unexpectedly backs Ukraine's NATO membership

According to the agency, Farage had previously claimed that NATO and the European Union provoked Russian President Vladimir Putin into invading Ukraine.

Now, he believes that Kyiv's alignment with the West should be part of a long-term solution. He made this statement on Wednesday, February 12, in London, amid direct engagement between US President Donald Trump and Putin.

He said he didn’t want to "pre-judge how these negotiations go" but added: "If we can get Putin into a place, and Zelenskyy into a place where we have a reasonable negotiation, I would have thought looking ahead, it’s probably essential that Ukraine joins NATO."

Later that evening, Farage confirmed his opinion on the GB News TV channel, where he is a presenter.

"Ukraine now joining NATO is almost an essential part of this peace deal," he said.

Ukraine's accession to NATO

Ukraine expected to receive an official invitation to join the Alliance at the NATO summit in Washington in July 2024. However, this did not happen.

Kyiv insists on adopting a clear timetable for accession, but no concrete decisions have been made. The Alliance emphasizes that the door to NATO remains open, but membership is not possible until the war is over.

In a speech at a recent Ramstein meeting, the new Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth suggested that Ukraine's membership in NATO is not a realistic option as a security guarantee for ending the war.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, if Ukraine is not in NATO, then the Alliance should be on Ukrainian territory. According to him, an alternative to Ukraine's accession to NATO is the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory. At the same time, the country should have an army similar in size to Russia's.

In addition, in his opinion, Ukraine will need to significantly strengthen its army if it is not accepted into NATO. In particular, he is again talking about doubling the number of military personnel.