Richard Tice has insisted Nigel Farage is “rock solid behind Ukraine”, just days after the Reform UK leader said he was “not a huge fan” of the country.

Tice was challenged on his claim during an interview on GB News.

Farage has been accused of “fawning over Putin” over his views on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

During last year’s election campaign, he was criticised for saying the West had “provoked” Russia into invading its neighbour through the eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union.

Tice was challenged by GB News presenter Camilla Tominey after he defended his party’s record on Ukraine.

He said: “We have stood rock solid with Ukraine.”

Tominey hit back: “He hasn’t been. Nigel Farage has been rock solid behind Ukraine? Why are you saying that? He hasn’t been.”

Tice said: “Nigel has said, quite rightly, as have I, the ultimate objective has to be a lasting peace with strong, robust security guarantees.”

The presenter replied: “But he hasn’t been rock solid behind Ukraine.”

Tice told her: “I’m sorry, that’s completely wrong.”

Tominey then asked him: “You’re saying that Nigel Farage has been rock solid behind Ukraine? What, when he was praising Putin as a great leader? When he was talking about the Russian bear being poked by the expansion of the European Union and Nato?”

Tice said: “That’s patently, patently not the case. Nigel and I has been rock solid that Putin is the aggressor, he is an evil dictator and Ukraine has been illegally invaded.”

But just a week ago, on an LBC phone-in, Farage said: “I’m not a huge fan of Ukraine, it’s a very, very corrupt country.”

Polling last week showed that Farage’s popularity with the British public has fallen since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in the past two weeks.

According to YouGov, the number of voters with a favourable view of Farage has fallen from 30% to 26% since mid-February, while the number with an unfavourable view has risen from 60% to 65%. That gives him an overable rating of minus 39.

At the same time, Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have gone up.