Trump giving too much ground on Ukraine, says Farage

Nigel Farage has distanced himself from Donald Trump's approach to Ukraine ceasefire talks, saying Russia appears to be "getting far too much".

The Reform UK leader told the BBC he "would not be 100% with" the current stance of the US president's team in negotiations to end the conflict.

He added it was "quite right to aim for peace," but Russian leader Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to emerge a "winner" in a ceasefire deal.

Trump has vowed to deliver a speedy resolution to the war, but talks have so far failed to produce agreement two months after he took office.

The US president blindsided European leaders last month by announcing direct talks with Russia to end the conflict without the involvement of Kyiv.

The Trump administration has also ruled out allowing Ukraine to join Nato, and went on to pause intelligence and military aid to Ukraine before resuming it after President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to a US-backed proposal for a month-long ceasefire plan.

The US has also so far declined to provide security guarantees for a suggested European force to police any eventual peace deal.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether he agreed with Trump's position on Ukraine, Farage said: "I would say it's quite right to aim for peace, but we can't have a peace that turns Putin into a winner.

"So I would not be 100% with where his team is right now, absolutely not".

"We want a peace deal, surely everybody wants a peace deal. But it needs to be equitable – right at the moment, it appears Russia is getting far too much," the Reform UK leader added.

Asked whether Trump had given too much ground, he replied: "At the moment, that's the way it looks".

"There may be things going on behind the scenes on the Russian side that we don't know, but at the moment, that's the worry".

Farage is a prominent supporter of the US president, appearing at some of his election rallies and visiting his Mar-a-Lago residence.

But his political alignment with Trump has seen him face criticism from rival parties in the UK, where there is broad political backing for Ukraine.

Elsewhere in his interview, Farage suggested he would be open to lifting the UK's ban on chlorine-washed chicken as part of a deal to avoid Trump tariffs on British goods exported to America.

American farmers are allowed to wash chickens with chlorine solution to maximise productivity and lifting European bans on the practice has been a longstanding demand of US trade negotiators.

Food regulators on both sides of the Atlantic say the practice itself does not present safety concerns, but European governments have argued it could lead to a long-term reduction in welfare standards by compensating for poor hygiene.

The Reform leader said he was happy to "let consumers decide" and buy American chicken "provided we have the right labelling".

The Liberal Democrats said the move would "sell out our hard-working British farmers" and Farage wanted to turn the UK into a "Trump tribute act".