Britain is not planning to send RAF Typhoons to Ukraine, the defence secretary has said, rejecting a high profile campaign led by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with the support of the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
Ben Wallace said the jets would be too complex for Ukraine – but added, with the backing of Downing Street, the fighters could provide air cover for eastern bloc countries to backfill if they wanted to send their MiG-29 and other Soviet-era jets to Kyiv.
The defence secretary said: “We’re not going to send our own Typhoon jets in the short term to Ukraine,” in an interview with Sky News to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Friday.
But the comments deal a blow to Zelenskiy, who travelled to the UK this month to make a dramatic request for “wings for freedom” in a rare address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament in Westminster.
Instead, Wallace said that if other countries with Soviet-origin aircraft wanted to supply Ukraine instead, the UK would be willing to help provide air cover for that country to make up for the loss of jets.
Downing Street said it had always believed that western jets “wouldn’t help in the immediate future given the training timelines and support systems required” but added that RAF Typhoons could help other countries.
“The PM has previously described our willingness to help support other countries who might be able to offer their capabilities, we could help backfill for example, in a range of things they might be required to do,” a spokesperson added.
Poland has repeatedly said it is willing to supply Ukraine with its fleet of 28 MiG-29s “as part of a wider coalition”, although at least some of the jets are thought to have been broken up and supplied to Kyiv’s air force covertly as spare parts.
Kyiv has also called for it to be supplied with US-made F-16s, the most widely available fighter jet worldwide, and discussions between the US and Ukraine continue, despite an initial rejection of the plan by Joe Biden, the US president, in late January.
Ukrainian pilots will need to be retrained to use any western fighter aircraft – with the process taking anywhere from three months, as some of Kyiv’s pilots say, to six to nine months, as suggested by RAF insiders.
Labour said it would support the government on whatever decision it made on fighter jets. The party leader, Keir Starmer, said: “We are not going to politically divide on this. We will support the government in the decision that it makes.”
Part of the problem, Wallace added, was that a rapid deployment would have to involve hundreds of British ground crew having to relocate to Ukraine for support – although Ukraine hopes to train its own engineers as needed.
“Gifting a fighter jet comes with hundreds of people: engineers, pilots, training, electronic warfare. The more complicated the platform, the greater the tail,” Wallace said, referring to the need for ground support.
“The west is not going to be putting troops into Ukraine in those scales. The idea that we would put Typhoons in – we would have to send 200 RAF people and we’re not going to do that … at this current stage,” he added.
Aviation experts have questioned whether RAF Typhoons, which traditionally fly from long, clear runways, would be suitable for Ukraine, given its need to operate in rough, dispersed airstrips to prevent planes being shot down by Russia.
King Charles offered his support for Ukraine in a personal message issued on Friday. The country’s people, he said, have “suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack” and “shown truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy”.
A minute’s silence was led by Rishi Sunak at 11am outside No 10. Joined by his wife, Akshata Murthy, the prime minister paid his respects to Ukrainians killed in the fighting, along with Kyiv’s ambassador to Britain, Vadym Prystaiko, and dozens of Ukrainian troops being trained by the UK.
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, said Ukraine must not be forced into a “Munich agreement-like compromise”, referring to the failed 1938 pre-war agreement that led to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia.
The Anglican leader, writing in the Daily Telegraph, also called for a “just peace” between Russia and Ukraine, and a settlement that Moscow could consider fair. “Russia cannot end up like Germany after 1919; it must be able to recover and be secure without being allowed to repeat its aggression,” he added.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, has announced an export ban on any equipment Russia is found to have used on the battlefield. The ban will mean companies cannot supply Russia with a range of items, including aircraft parts, radio equipment and electronic components.
The Foreign Office also announced new sanctions on executives at several Russian companies, including the state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom, two defence companies and four banks.
Ukraine’s president thanked Sunak and the British people for “unwavering support” in “the fight against aggression”. Zelenskiy praised the prime minister for the sanctions package, and made no mention of the announcement regarding Typhoons.
