Volodymyr Zelensky Urges His Western Allies To Give Him Fighter Planes Against Russia

In its second trip abroad since the Russian invasionUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Britain and France on Wednesday, and urged his Western allies in London to provide him with fighter jetswhich the UK said it will study “in the long term”.

Zelensky, who will be in Brussels on Thursday for a European Union summit (EU), arrived at Orly airport, near Paris, on Wednesday night to meet with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and the head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, AFP journalists found.

Earlier, in London, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi SunakZelensky “underlined the importance of Ukraine receiving the necessary weapons from the allies to stop the Russian offensive.”

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Then, in front of British parliamentarians gathered in a packed Westminter Hall, the huge room where Elizabeth II’s funeral was held in September, he insisted that these must include hunts.

“I ask you and the world for simple but very important words: fighter jets for Ukraine, wings for freedom,” he said.

“We are not excluding anything,” including the delivery of planes, Sunak said at a press conference after visiting with Zelensky a military center in Dorset, in southern England, where the British army trains Ukrainian soldiers.

Sunak indicated that the British Challenger 2 tanks promised by London will be operational “next month” on Ukrainian soil.

The Ukrainian president was also received by King Charles III, to whom he expressed his gratitude “for the warm welcome and for helping the Ukrainian citizens who took refuge from the war in the United Kingdom.”

The United Kingdom was the second country visited by the Ukrainian leaderfollowing the United States in December, since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

“We will meet with European leaders tomorrow”, stated Zelensky, referring to his visit to Brussels on Thursday. “When you only have ten NATO armored vehicles against tens of thousands of Russian tanks what are your chances?” he asked.

Germany recently acceded to the shipment of tanks and on Tuesday announced together with the Netherlands and Denmark that they will deliver “at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks” in “the next few months”. But other countries that have pledged appear to be dragging their feet.

Experts agree that Russia prepares a major offensive for the end of winter or early spring, with the aim of conquering the entirety of Donbas, which it now partially occupies.

Updated maps of Russia, including regions of Ukraine it claims to have annexed: Zaporizhia, Kherson, Lugansk and Donetsk, went on sale in Moscow bookstores on Tuesday.

Months or years to train pilots

The UK, hitherto reluctant to supply Ukraine with Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets, has said it will look into that possibility, though it does not see it as immediate.

“The prime minister has instructed the defense minister to look at what aircraft we could provide, but this is clearly a long-term solution rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most right now,” a spokesman said.

Russia promised “a response to any hostile action taken by the British side”, according to a statement released by Russian news agencies. London will bear the responsibility of a “bloody harvest” as well as the “political and military consequences that result”, he added.

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Last week, Sunak considered that Ukrainian pilots would need “months” or even “years” to learn to fly the fighters used by NATO countries.

But on Wednesday he proposed expanding the training he already offers to Ukrainian troops in the UK “by extending it to fighter pilots to ensure that Ukraine can defend its airspace in the future.”

Britain provided 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2022 and pledged to maintain the same level, second in the world after the United States, this year.

Coinciding with Zelensky’s visit, the British government, which has already sanctioned more than 1,300 Russian individuals and entities since the invasion of Ukraine, strengthened those sanctions to include “six entities supplying military material” and “eight individuals and one entity linked to financial networks” close to the Kremlin. (YO)