Israel and Ukraine fighting ‘proxy wars' for the West
Badenoch made the remarks on Sunday, commenting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement that the UK, France, and Canada are on 'the wrong side of humanity' for trying to pressure his country to end its campaign in the Palestinian enclave.
The Tory leader dismissed accusations that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide, arguing that it is justified in its fight against Hamas, and that the conflict also serves the interests of the UK.
'Who funds Hamas? Iran – an enemy of this country. Israel is fighting a proxy war on behalf of the UK,' Badenoch said.
She went on to say that the Ukraine conflict is similarly a proxy war against Russia being waged on behalf of Western Europe.
The Russian Embassy in London later reposted a clip of Badenoch's interview, saying the Conservative leader has 'finally called a spade a spade.'
'Ukraine is indeed fighting a proxy-war against Russia on behalf of Western interests. The illegitimate Kiev regime, created, financed and armed by the West, has been at it since 2014,' the embassy wrote on Facebook.
It went on to say that Badenoch's own party was responsible for telling the Ukrainians to 'keep fighting' when a potential peace settlement was on the verge of being signed in 2022. 'The result has been an unmitigated disaster for Ukraine and its people, as well as an unprecedented security crisis in Europe.'
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar admission when he said the Ukraine conflict is in fact a 'proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine – and Russia.'
Throughout the conflict, Moscow has repeatedly described the hostilities as a Western-led proxy war against Russia in which Ukrainians are being used as 'cannon fodder.'
Russian officials have argued that the US and other Western powers intentionally escalated tensions in the region by disregarding Russia's national security concerns over NATO expansion in Eastern Europe and Ukraine's potential admission into the military bloc.
Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is currently standing alone against the Collective West and is locked in an 'existential war.'
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