Vladimir Putin has issued a chilling warning to the UK over its prospective plans to provide Ukraine with fighter jets to defend its country from Russian invaders.
Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky reiterated his request for the airpower in a speech to the UK parliament on Wednesday.
But the Russian Embassy in London was quick to respond, issuing a statement warning the British government that a decision to provide the warplanes would be "on London's conscience" because of the "bloodshed, next round of escalation, and subsequent military and political ramifications for the European continent and the entire globe".
The UK has not yet committed to providing the fighter jets to Ukraine, but on Wednesday Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that "nothing was off the table" in his discussions with Zelensky.
Speaking during a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president, Mr Sunak said sending warplanes was “part of the conversation” between the pair.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky presented the speaker of the House of Commons with a helmet from the Ukrainian air force inscribed by a pilot with the words: "We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it."
He told peers and MPs in Westminster Hall: “I appeal to you and the world with simple and yet most important words: combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom.”
Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister had asked Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to investigate what jets the UK could potentially give to Ukraine in its struggle against invading Russian forces.
Mr Zelensky said that without jets, there was a risk of “stagnation” in the conflict with Russia.
Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the outbreak of the conflict and a close ally of Mr Zelensky, urged the UK to give Ukraine the “tools to finish the job” of defeating the Kremlin’s troops.
“The faster we do it, the bigger the saving in life,” he told LBC.
Mr Zelensky's surprise visit to the UK included a meeting with King Charles III.
Alluding to the King's former RAF experience, the Ukrainian president told those gathered in Westminster Hall:
“The King is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”
He added: “We know freedom will win. We know Russia will lose.”
After visiting a training site for Ukranian troops in Dorset, Mr Sunak and Mr Zelensky later signed a declaration of unity, stating how London and Kyiv were “confident, that together with our allies and partners, we will defeat Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion”.
The visit was only Mr Zelensky's second foreign trip outside of Ukraine since the invasion began just under a year ago.
