Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came down to the UK on Wednesday and urged lawmakers to send warplanes to Ukraine ahead of his visit with King Charles III.
“Today I will have the honor of being received by His Majesty the King,” Zelenskyy said addressing both Houses of Parliament and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “It will be a very special moment for me, for our country.
“In Britain, the king is an air force pilot. And in Ukraine today every air force pilot is a king,” he said to loud applause from members of Parliament.
King Charles III meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Buckingham Palace, London on Wednesday 8 February 2023. (Aaron Chown/Pool via AP)
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Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for fighter planes since the war began nearly a year ago, but he has renewed his efforts for increased air defense as a major Russian offensive looms.
Western nations, including the United States, have repeatedly said they will not send warplanes to Ukraine for fear it could escalate the war. But many have wondered whether Washington and its NATO allies will alter their line of reasoning after the US and Germany reversed their stances on sending tanks to Ukraine last month.
At least the UK seems to be changing its tune when it comes to sending jets to Ukraine.
After Zelenskyy’s speech, Sunak, who had previously rejected requests to send jets to Kiev, called on his defense secretary, Ben Wallace, to investigate which warplanes the UK might supply to Ukraine, he said the Press Association.
Though Sunak reportedly called it a “long-term solution,” suggesting that British jets likely wouldn’t end up in the hands of Ukrainian fighter pilots in the foreseeable future.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday February 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
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Sunak also announced on Wednesday that the UK would train Ukrainian pilots on NATO jets, a traineeship that is likely to prove relatively straightforward as Ukrainian pilots have already been trained on fourth-generation fighter jets by US pilots.
Zelenskyy presented House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle with a Ukrainian fighter pilot’s helmet which read: “We have freedom, give us wings to protect it.”
“I appeal to you and the world with simple but very important words: fighter planes for Ukraine, wings for freedom,” Zelenskyy urged.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle holds the helmet engraved with the words ‘We have freedom, give us wings to protect it’ which was presented to him by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London on Wednesday 8 February 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/pool photo via AP)
Sunak’s calls to look into sending fighter jets to Ukraine come just weeks after the UK became one of the first nations to say it would send tanks to Ukraine during the debate among NATO nations.
Nations such as France and Poland have also said they would be willing to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, Nile Gardiner, said Zelenskyy’s visit to the UK had “extraordinary significance”.
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“It’s a reflection of the fact that the UK is Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe today,” he told Fox News Digital. “Meeting King Charles in particular has great significance, and I think it sends a very clear message to the Ukrainian people that the British people stand side by side with the Ukrainians.
“But more importantly, it sends a message to Putin that Britain will resist Russian aggression,” he added.
Ashley Pope of Fox News contributed to this report.
