Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged support for a coalition to help provide Ukraine with a fleet of Western-made fighter jets, although he stopped short during a surprise UK visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of promising actual aircraft.
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged support for a coalition to help provide Ukraine with a fleet of Western-made fighter jets, although he stopped short during a surprise UK visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of promising actual aircraft.
Sunak told Zelenskiy on Monday that he was “very keen to build that coalition of countries to give Volodymyr and his people the aircraft support that they need.” The UK prime minister also committed to giving Ukraine more attack drones and air-defense systems during unannounced talks at his Chequers countryside retreat north of London.
“We want to create this jets coalition and I’m very positive with it,” Zelenskiy said after the meeting. “And I see that in the closest time you will hear I think some very important decisions. But we have to work a little bit more on it.”
Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, later told reporters that there were “no plans” to send British Typhoon or F-35 jets to Ukraine because Kyiv had decided to use F-16s, which the UK doesn’t own.
While Ukraine has been seeking more advanced fighter jets since the first days of Russia’s invasion of the country last year, Western governments have resisted the requests over concerns about the risk of escalating tensions with Moscow. There are also practical concerns about the time would take to make sure Kyiv had the trained pilots, weapons and maintenance capabilities needed to operate them effectively against Russian planes.
To help Ukraine prepare, Sunak said he said efforts to train Ukrainian pilots would begin in “relatively short order,” reaffirming a pledge made during Zelenskiy’s previous visit to the UK in February. “We are going to be a key part of the coalition of countries that provides that support to Volodymyr and Ukraine,” Sunak said, adding that he would push the issue during his upcoming diplomatic engagements, which including the Group of Seven nations meetings this week in Japan.
The UK will confirm the transfer of hundreds of air-defense missiles and further unmanned aerial systems including new attack drones with a range in excess of 200 kilometers (120 miles) to Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. Last week, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was providing the country with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, the longest-range offensive weapons yet provided to Ukraine by Western allies.
“We take this extremely negatively,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about the UK’s latest military package. “This may not have any significant impact on the course of the special military operation, but it will lead to further destruction, actions. For Ukraine, this will just make things worse.”
NATO Membership?
Public support for Ukraine remains strong in the UK, which has been the country’s second-largest contributor of military aid after the US. On Saturday, Liverpool hosted Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine.
Kyiv is seeking additional supplies of weapons as it prepares for a counteroffensive to take back territory occupied by Russian forces. Zelenskiy has made similar visits to France, Germany and Italy in recent days. He’s also expected to meet a Chinese envoy Tuesday in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president’s tour of European capitals was to discuss weapons supply and to speak to North Atlantic Treaty Organization members about his country’s future in the defense alliance. Ukraine is looking for a signal on NATO membership in July, when leaders are due to meet at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“Another topic of conversation that we’ve had today is about the security arrangements that we should put in place amongst allied countries for Ukraine for the long term to ensure that it can defend itself and provide effective deterrence against future Russian aggression,” Sunak said.
–With assistance from Mark Sweetman and Alex Morales.
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