Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, pressured the British government to join a "fighter jet coalition" on Monday at the end of a busy European visit but was only successful in getting an agreement for attack drones and hundreds more missiles.
Zelenskyy was welcomed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with a handshake and an embrace when the president's helicopter touched down at Chequers, the official country retreat of the British leader. Zelenskyy had been to the UK twice since Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, but this was his seventh journey to a European nation in three days.
As Ukraine gets ready for a much-anticipated spring battle to reclaim Russian-occupied territory, he is requesting further military assistance. The president of Ukraine also traveled to Germany, France, the Vatican, and Italy.
According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, Russia responded to the U.K.'s new vow "extremely negatively," but also does not believe that the missiles and drones will materially alter the direction of the conflict.
“Britain aspires to be at the forefront among countries that continue to pump weapons into Ukraine,” Peskov said. “We repeat once again: It cannot yield any drastic and fundamental influence on the way the special military operation (in Ukraine) is unfolding. But it leads to further destruction. … It makes this whole story for Ukraine much more complicated.”
Building a "fighter jet coalition" to give Ukraine essential military strength in the air, according to Zelenskyy, was one of his trips' objectives in Europe, which he stated began on Saturday. He claimed the area still needs improvement.
The U.K. won't supply the aircraft, but the prime minister promised that his nation will join the alliance and launch the already scheduled program for Ukrainian fighter pilots as early as this summer.
Short-range missiles, Challenger tanks, and 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained on British land by the U.K. Storm Shadow cruise missiles, with an effective range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles), were supplied to Ukraine, the government said last week. The first shipment of longer-range weapons that Ukraine is known to have received from its allies were the British missiles.
According to Sunak's office, Ukraine will also receive "long-range attack drones" with a range of over 200 kilometers (120 miles) and hundreds of air defense missiles.
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke,” 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.
“We must not let them down,” the prime minister added.
At the meeting of the Group of Seven leaders later this week in Japan, Sunak intends to press allies to give Ukraine further help, according to Downing Street.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
