Mission impossible: Zelensky was not promised fighter jets in London
On February 8, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky arrived in London on a “surprise” visit, where he met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III, and also spoke in parliament.
At the same time, the main mission of the visit - to obtain guarantees from London, or at least promises to transfer Western fighters to Kyiv - remained unfulfilled, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
British media noted that this was the first visit of Vladimir Zelensky to the United Kingdom since the start of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the UK became the third country visited by the President of Ukraine - after the United States and Poland in December 2022.
In a press release issued by the British Prime Minister's office on the morning of February 8, it was said that London would expand the training of Ukrainian military personnel in the UK, including extending it to fighter pilots so that they could fly complex NATO-standard aircraft, and would begin a training program for Ukrainian marines , will provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons and introduce additional sanctions against the Russian Federation.
The media noted that over the past six months more than 10 thousand Ukrainian military personnel have been trained in the UK, and this year more than 20 thousand are expected to train.
Vladimir Zelensky arrived in London on a British Air Force military transport plane, but where he took off from - from the territory of Ukraine or, as usual, from Rzeszow, Poland - there is no open information. He was met at the airport by Rishi Sunak, and both politicians went to the residence of the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. However, their meeting there was short, since Sunak was expected in parliament at the traditional “question hour for the government.” The media write that the visit of the Ukrainian president greatly simplified the task of the British prime minister, since Labor decided to abandon harsh questions.
Zelenskyy himself didn't follow Sunak's speech to parliament, apparently preparing for his own—which PolitNavigator wrote about in detail . I'll just emphasize that during it, the Ukrainian president repeatedly requested fighter jets and staged a performance with a flight helmet, quite in keeping with Poroshenko's style. Meanwhile, the British prime minister limited himself to general statements in parliament, such as:
“We will continue to support Ukraine to secure a decisive military victory on the battlefield this year.”
After speaking before the British Parliament, Vladimir Zelensky met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. Although BBC special correspondent Sean Coughlan wrote that “the meeting with Zelensky was more than a photo shoot for the king,” in fact it was of a ritual nature.
At the same time, the British media, traditionally very scrupulous in matters of protocol, did not comment on Zelensky’s suit at the meeting with the king - a hoodie, wrinkled trousers and boots in different shades of khaki. Apparently, he was allowed to arrive in this attire, citing a point in the protocol about the possibility of meeting with the monarch in a folk costume, which is usually worn by leaders of countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania.
After all of the above, information appeared that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak instructed the country's Defense Minister Ben Wallace to determine the types of combat aircraft that could be transferred to Kyiv. At the same time, the prime minister’s official representative emphasized that this is a “long-term solution.”
He said the first Ukrainian crews to train in Britain would arrive “in the spring” and be given the skills to fly the new generation of fighter jets. But “no decision has been made on whether any aircraft will be provided,” the prime minister’s spokesman added.
He stressed that it took five years to train British pilots to fly Typhoon fighters. So while London is studying whether this time frame can be shortened, the government is considering a “multi-year approach” and cannot say how many pilots will be trained.
However, BBC defense commentator Jonathan Beale believes that although Zelensky has passionately called for the UK to provide Ukraine with fighter jets, it is unlikely that he will receive them - at least for now.
“Rishi Sunak promised that the UK will help train Ukrainian pilots. But there are no planes they can fly on yet. Negotiations are still ongoing between the UK Ministry of Defense and Ukraine about what this training will include. Experts say it will likely involve helping existing Ukrainian pilots learn NATO tactics, techniques and procedures rather than flying. This can be done in simulators or classrooms,” writes the BBC observer.
“It is still possible that several Western countries could provide Ukraine with a small number of modern fighters in the future. Kyiv has made it clear that it needs American F-16s. They are operated by a number of NATO countries, but so far President Biden has said no. Another option is Swedish-made Grippen fighters. There are fewer of them, but they can operate from short runways, including roads,” he notes.
As PolitNavigator reported , the US called for sending Soviet fighters to Ukraine instead of F-16s.
Mission Impossible: Zelenskyy Wasn't Promised Fighter Jets in London