The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, welcomed the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the UK, for his short visit. The Ukrainian President has been on an European tour in recent days. He was first in Italy to meet the Pope and other Italian officials, and then to Germany and France, before making a stop in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom has promised to send hundreds of military equipment to aid Ukraine in their offensive against Russia, adding up to the already Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles, announced a week ago. The decision indicates that, the United Kingdom is going further than other nations in delivering weapons, that have the potential to shift the conflict in Ukraine’s favor.
During the meeting between the two leaders, Zelensky emphasized on the need for their allies to send them weapons, as well as fighter jets. Rishi Sunak replied saying, delivering fighter jets are “not a straightforward thing”, although he confirmed the UK would form “a key part of the coalition countries” providing such support.
As Ukraine prepares for a massive counter-offensive against Russia invaders, Volodymyr Zelensky said, his country would need more weaponry before it could launch the attack. If Ukraine can target the Russian command centers, logistics hubs, and ammunition depots in occupied territory, Moscow would find it difficult to supply its frontline forces in some areas.
Ukraine accomplished this kind of success in Kherson the previous year, which compelled Russian troops to retreat without a fight. It now hopes to carry out a similar operation with the assistance of Western-supplied weapons.
However, President Zelensky’s constant pleas for NATO to hand over their F-16 fighter jets, have been met with resistance for a variety of reasons. Though it takes months to the train, the Ukrainian Air Force has trained its pilots on F-16s, which the RAF does not use. Logistics, maintenance, and the need to locate adequate runways are all critical, when making decisions to commit fighter jets on the warfront.
Also, considering the issue of escalation, NATO is trying to strike a balance in providing Kyiv with the needed assistance without becoming fully involved in the war.
If NATO end up sending F-16 fighter planes, no matter how old they are, Moscow sees it as a serious escalation by the West. Mr Zelensky however stated that, he and Mr Sunak discussed the supply of Western fighter jets.
Getting new Jets are “very important topic for us, because we cannot control the sky,” Zelensky said. “We spoke about it and I see that in the closest time you will hear some, I think, very important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on it,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson revealed in a statement that, the UK does not intend to send fighter jets to Ukraine. On the other hand, the PM’s office said elementary training for Ukrainian pilots, would begin in the summer, along with British efforts to work with other allies in supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,” Rishi Sunak said. “They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year,” Sunak averred.
Russia has said, the new weapons, due to be delivered to Ukraine, would only cause “further destructions.” “Britain aspires to position itself at the forefront of the countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine,” spokesperson for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov said.
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