Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a powerful appeal to the UK to supply Ukraine with fighter jets in a historic speech to members of the Commons and the Lords at Westminster Hall. He presented Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the Commons, with the helmet of a fighter pilot on which the pilot had written: “We have freedom. Give us the wings to protect it.” Zelenskiy’s appeal may be broader – an effort to persuade the UK to act as a lobbyist to help Ukraine secure F-16s from the US, with Britain helping, as announced, with initial pilot training in simulators to get the process going.
Hours after Zelenskiy’s speech to the UK parliament, Downing Street announced that prime minister Rishi Sunak had asked Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, to investigate which jets the UK might be able to send to Ukraine in the future. A spokesperson for the PM stressed that no decision had been taken on whether to supply UK jets to Ukraine, but that the issue is being “actively” considered by Wallace.
The Russian embassy to Britain has warned the UK against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, after Downing Street confirmed Sunak had asked his defence secretary to investigate, Russian state media is reporting. Such a move would have “military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world”, the embassy said, according to state-run Tass news agency.
The Ukrainian leader was embraced by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as he arrived in the UK for his first visit since the Russian invasion. The visit marked the second time Zelenskiy has left Ukraine since the start of the war. King Charles held an audience with Zelenskiy at Buckingham Palace after the Ukrainian leader addressed British MPs and peers in Westminster Hall. During his address to parliament, Zelenskiy said: “In Britain, the king is an air force pilot. In Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”
Sunak also pledged additional military support and training to Ukraine as Zelenskiy arrived in the UK. The expansion of the UK’s training programme to include jet fighter pilots is significant as Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on western countries to supply planes. Ukrainian troops are being trained in the use of Challenger 2 tanks, which are expected to be sent to the country next month.
The UK also announced a number of new Russia-related sanctions targeting people who have helped Vladimir Putin build his personal wealth, as well as firms that have profited from the war. Individuals placed under sanctions include the presidential commissioner for entrepreneur’s rights, Boris Titov, and the owner of Aerostart, Viktor Myachin, as well as Putin’s alleged former lover Svetlana Krivonogikh.
In a joint press conference with Zelenskiy, Sunak said “nothing is off the table” when it comes to the provision of military assistance to Ukraine. The UK is “accelerating” the delivery of equipment to Ukraine to “ensure that it reaches Ukraine’s frontline in coming days and weeks, not months or years, Sunak told reporters, adding that the Ukrainian crews who arrived in the UK last week will be using Challenger 2 main battle tanks to defend Ukraine next month.
Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Paris later today to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz. In a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Wednesday, Scholz criticised the “public competition” among some countries over who can supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that it “harms unity” among allies. “Cohesion within our alliances is our most valuable asset,” Scholz said.
On Thursday, Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Brussels, where leaders of EU countries are gathering for a summit. A senior Ukrainian official said his president would ask EU leaders for more arms to fight Russia and to move quickly on his country’s bid to join the bloc.
Western allies could deliver the first battalion of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the first three or four months of this year, Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has said. A battalion would consist of about 31 tanks, he added during a trip to the Polish capital on Wednesday.
Poland and the Baltic states have urged the EU to work on seizing frozen Russian state assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine “as soon as possible”, raising pressure to act on a legally fraught question. Ahead of a two-day EU summit that will discuss the Russian invasion, the leaders of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia said “in order to be credible on this matter vis-a-vis Ukraine” the bloc had to go beyond reiterating previous commitments and “accelerate our work in the council right now”.
Since Russia withdrew its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro in November, “skirmishing and reconnaissance” has continued on the network of islands comprising the Dnipro delta, according to the UK ministry of defence. “It is highly unlikely that Russia will attempt an assault crossing of the Dnipro,” the latest intelligence update said. “It would likely be extremely complex and costly.”
There are “strong indications” Putin personally signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, a team of international investigators has said. However, investigators said the evidence was not enough to lead to prosecution. The Boeing 777 was flying over eastern Ukraine when it was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile in July 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.
The former Pink Floyd rockstar, Roger Waters, has appeared before a UN security council meeting about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Waters, who has a record of blaming the US and the west in general, for allegedly provoking the invasion, spoke by video link where he claimed to be speaking on behalf of “four billion or so brothers and sisters” in what he called a “voiceless majority, who together with the millions in the international antiwar movement represent a huge constituency”. Ukraine’s permanent representative, Sergiy Kyslytsya, was scathing about Waters’ intervention, and drew on his Pink Floyd past to rebuke him
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, made clear she did not want a Russian delegation at next year’s games. Her remarks came after five Olympic committees in the Nordic region – Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway – urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in international sports.
Russia said on Wednesday that work to unblock Russian exports under the Black Sea grain deal was unsatisfactory, accusing the EU of failing to deliver on its promises, the Tass news agency reported. The comments refer to the UN-brokered agreement between Moscow and Kyiv that aimed to free up grain exports held up at Black Sea ports by the war in Ukraine.
The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, said on Wednesday that EU moves to add what he called “exemptions” to its price cap on oil products showed that Russian oil was still in demand, Reuters reports.
Russia has demanded that the US embassy in Moscow stop spreading what Moscow regards as fake news regarding its military operation in Ukraine and has threatened to expel US diplomats, Reuters reports, citing an original report in the Tass news agency.
