British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed on Wednesday that “nothing is out of the question” when it comes to supplying fighter jets to Ukraine, but stressed that the priority was to strengthen anti-aircraft defenses and long-range missiles.
“When it comes to providing military aid to Ukraine, nothing is off the table,” Sunak said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after visiting a military base in southern England where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained by the British. armed forces.
A press conference, incidentally, was marked by an unusual situation: Natalia, a BBC Ukraine journalist, expressed her desire to embrace Zelensky. “Mr. President, I would like to hug you, but I can’t,” said a journalist who was open at the time. “Why not?” Zelensky replied, going to the journalist to give her the desired hug. “Security,” joked Ukraine’s head of state.
“Mr. President, I would love to hug you, but I can’t”
“Why not?”
President Volodymyr Zelensky hugs a reporter during a press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak https://t.co/oRP3b0IbBf pic.twitter.com/b4PVCTF04l
— Bloomberg UK (@BloombergUK) February 8, 2023
As for the press conference, the The British head of government said what he discussed with Zelensky is that “the most immediate needs are [sistemas de] anti-aircraft guns and long-range missiles”.
Referring to the need for up to five years of training to fly combat aircraft, the British leader said stressed that “the first step in being able to provide advanced aircraft is to have soldiers or pilots who can use them” and that the United Kingdom will soon start working in this direction.
For his part, Zelensky admitted that he needs “a lot of different equipment” and that the priority is to have more armored vehicles since “the enemy has thousands of units”.
“We need armored vehicles, we need tanks, we need fighter jets. And of course we spent a lot of time on this,” he told reporters, adding that he hopes to discuss these armament issues with leaders in the coming days. of the European Union (HUH).
Western countries have so far resisted providing air assets to Ukraine, but France and the United Kingdom have not ruled out the possibility.
Last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki did not rule out the possibility of Warsaw supplying F-16 fighter jets to Kiev “in consultation with NATO countries”, despite US President Joe Biden’s reluctance.
Other allies have said they are ready, including Slovakia, which has Soviet Mig-29s, and the Netherlands, which has started replacing its F-16 fleet with F-35s.
A Sunak spokesman revealed today that he had instructed Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to look into what British aircraft could be delivered, but stressed that “this is clearly a long-term solution and not a short-term capability”.
In the past six months, 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received training on British soil and the UK expects to train a further 20,000 by 2023.
Sunak promised to expand the training program to pilots, so that they learn how to handle fighter jets and other more modern military equipment used by NATO countries, such as ‘drones’ or tanks.
Volodymyr Zelensky today visited the United Kingdom, where he was welcomed by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before giving a speech to parliament and meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.
This was the second visit abroad since the beginning of the war, after the visit to Washington in December.
The Ukrainian president is on his way to Paris this Wednesday, where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Élysée Palace..
News updated at 6:57 PM
Source: DN
