Rishi Sunak says Nigel Farage ‘playing into hands of Putin’ with ‘completely wrong’ comments on Ukraine war
Rishi Sunak has said Nigel Farage’s comments about the West provoking Vladimir Putin were “completely wrong” and play into the Russian dictator’s hands.
The Reform UK leader is facing a backlash from across the political spectrum for saying that the expansion of NATO and the EU “provoked” Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Mr Sunak told reporters: “What he said was completely wrong and only plays into Putin’s hands.
“This is a man who deployed nerve agents on the streets of Britain, is doing deals with countries like North Korea
“And this kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, the security of our allies that rely on us and only emboldens Putin further.”
In an interview with BBC Panorama, Mr Farage said he had been warning since the fall of the Berlin Wall that there would be a war in Ukraine due to the “ever-eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union”.
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Farage: NATO expansion ‘provoked’ Ukraine war
He said this was giving Mr Putin a reason to tell the Russian people “they’re coming for us again” and go to war.
The Reform leader confirmed his belief the West “provoked” the conflict – but said it was “of course” the Russian president’s “fault”.
Asked about comments he made in 2014 stating that Mr Putin was the statesman he most admired, Mr Farage said: “I said I disliked him as a person, but I admired him as a political operator because he’s managed to take control of running Russia.”
Mr Putin has served continuously as either Russian president or prime minister since 1999, with elections which have been described as “rigged”.
Mr Sunak is the latest Conservative figure to condemn the comments, after Home Secretary James Cleverly said Mr Farage was “echoing Putin’s vile justification for the brutal invasion of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, former defence secretary Ben Wallace branded the Reform UK leader a “pub bore…who often says if ‘I was running the country’ and presents very simplistic answers to actually I am afraid in the 21st century complex problems”.
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Farage called out over comments
Mr Farage has so far enjoyed a relatively smooth campaign, with his party’s popularity increasing and even overtaking the Conservatives in some polls.
Senior Tories, some of whom want Mr Farage to join them to counter the threat of Reform UK, have until now refrained from the sort of personal attacks they have launched at Sir Keir Starmer.
The most that cabinet ministers have said against him up to now is that a vote for him is a vote to put Labour in Downing Street with a “super-majority”.
Labour leader Sir Keir condemned Mr Farage’s remarks, calling them “disgraceful”.
“I’ve always been clear that Putin bears responsibility, sole responsibility for the Russian aggression in Ukraine”, he said.
“Anybody who wants to stand to be a representative in our parliament should be really clear that whether it’s Russian aggression on the battlefield or online, that we stand against that aggression.”
Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey said: “It is Putin and Russia who are to blame for this, no one else.”
He added: “I don’t share any values with Nigel Farage.”
Following the backlash, Mr Farage posted a late-night tweet appearing to clarify his comments.
The former Brexit Party leader wrote: “I am one of the few figures that have been consistent & honest about the war with Russia. Putin was wrong to invade a sovereign nation, and the EU was wrong to expand eastward.
“The sooner we realise this, the closer we will be to ending the war and delivering peace.”
The US Labor Department has officially rescinded guidance issued during the Biden administration that limited the inclusion of cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement plans.
On May 28, the Labor Department revoked a 2022 guidance that had urged fiduciaries to be “extremely cautious” when considering cryptocurrency for 401(k) retirement plans. The move could give asset managers more flexibility to include digital assets in retirement investment options.
The government agency removed the guidance asserting that it represented a departure from the department’s “historically neutral, principled-based approach to fiduciary investment decisions.”
“We’re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats,” said US Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The Labor Department under Biden criticized the practice of marketing cryptocurrencies to 401(k) participants. At the time, the agency claimed cryptocurrencies posed “significant risks and challenges” to participants’ retirement accounts due to their “speculative and volatile” nature and “valuation concerns,” among other reasons.
The American Banking Association (ABA) criticized the 2022 compliance release, claiming that it did not make the guidance available for public comment and review prior to issuance.
Related: Fidelity introduces retirement accounts with minimal-fee crypto investing
Trump administration shifts crypto landscape
President Trump has pledged to make the United States “the world capital of crypto” during his 2024 campaign.
Under his administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has scaled back several enforcement actions and investigations involving Web3 companies such as Uniswap, Coinbase, and Kraken, while also engaging in policy discussions on topics like real-world asset tokenization and the regulatory status of certain tokens.
At the same time, some lawmakers have expressed concerns about Trump’s involvement in the crypto space, including calls for greater scrutiny of his associated ventures.
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Bilal Bin Saqib, head of Pakistan’s crypto council, announced on May 28 that the country is moving to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saqib said the government of Pakistan followed the United States’ lead in establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve and is embracing pro-crypto regulatory policies. The government official told the audience:
“Today is a very historic day. Today, I announce the Pakistani government is setting up its own government-led Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, and we want to thank the United States of America again because we were inspired by them.”
The announcement represents a significant departure from the government of Pakistan’s previous stance on cryptocurrencies, holding that crypto would never be legal in the country.
Pakistan’s shift reflects the broader trend of nation-states adopting pro-crypto policies following the regulatory shift in Washington, DC under the President Donald Trump administration.
Related: Pakistan appoints special assistant to PM on blockchain and crypto
United States Vice President JD Vance took the stage to deliver a keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, encouraging Bitcoiners to deepen their involvement in politics.
Vance highlighted the strategic and geopolitical importance of Bitcoin, emphasizing that the US should maintain leadership in the crypto industry to remain competitive in the age of digital finance. Vance told the audience:
“What happens in the world of politics, what happens in the world of bureaucracy, will affect even the most transformational and valuable technologies if we do not make the right decisions. The first thing that I would ask you, is to take the momentum of your political involvement in 2024 and carry it forward to 2026 and beyond.”
“Don’t ignore politics because I guarantee you, my friends, politics is not going to ignore this community, not now, and not in the future,” the vice president continued.
Bitcoin continues to gain institutional legitimacy and has been elevated to an asset class with macroeconomic and geopolitical importance. Market analysts and Bitcoin advocates warn that the global race to acquire BTC is underway between sovereign powers.
Related: Crypto czar Sacks says US could possibly ‘acquire more Bitcoin’
Nation-state Bitcoin adoption
Bitcoin maximalists and market analysts argue that high-stakes game theory compels nation-states to adopt BTC due to the downside or opportunity cost of not adopting the scarce digital asset as sovereign competitors do.
This alleged nation-state’s fear of missing out (FOMO) was amplified by US President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, including the creation of a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a crypto advisory council.
The regulatory shift in the United States prompted other governments to indicate a possible policy reset on cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin.
The government of India, for instance, is reconsidering its crypto policies in response to regulatory changes in the US. India’s economic affairs secretary, Ajay Seth, said that digital assets do not care about borders.
Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
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