Nigel Farage blasts Vladimir Putin as he issues call for NATO to shoot down Russian jets

Nigel Farage has said NATO countries must shoot down Russian jets that enter their airspace, as the Reform UK leader bats away allegations he is soft on Vladimir Putin. Mr Farage branded the Russian dictator irrational as he issued his strongest condemnation of the warmongering country to date.

It came after Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded Reform "Kremlin cronies" at PMQs this week, with opposition parties citing Mr Farage previous comments about Mr Putin. Mr Farage accused Putin of not being a "rational man", adding: "The idea that I'm soft on this is just nonsense." He slammed the Russian leader for failing to engage with Donald Trump's efforts to end the brutal war in Ukraine, branding him "a very bad dude".

"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. I think Trump feels that Putin has made a fool of him."

Asked if he'd back Keir Starmer's plan to convene a 'coalition of the willing' to put European troops in Ukraine to enforce a potential ceasefire, Mr Farage warned "I'd be very cautious about doing that", though he voiced support of a UN-style force.

Asked about what he would do if Russian jets crossed into airspace outside of Ukraine, as happened in Estonia in September, Mr Farage simply said he would "shoot them down".

He also voiced fury and anger at the recent trial of former Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill being convicted of bribery by the Russians, branding the revelations "appalling".

He told Bloomberg: "We had a bad apple in this bloke? Yes."

However he insisted "I believe, 100%, with all my heart, there's nobody else" who acted in a similar manner.

The bellicose intervention comes after Keir Starmer used PMQs to slam Reform UK as in hoc to Putin.

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: "Look at Reform. Mr Farage and his deputy worked alongside someone who took money to spread Putin's propaganda.

"Whatever their denials, they have serious questions to answer about what they knew.

"But that is the choice - Kremlin cronies sewing division or Labour patriots working for national renewal."

Asked In 2014 Mr Farage by GQ Magazine which world leader he admires most, Mr Farage said his pick was Vladimir Putin "as an operator, but not as a human being."

"The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant. Not that I approve of him politically. How many journalists in jail now?"

He defended his comments in 2024, telling the BBC: "I said I disliked him as a person, but admired him as a political operator, because he's managed to take control of running Russia."