Volodymyr Zelensky made a historic visit to London on Wednesday as Britain announced it will train Ukrainian pilots to fly Nato-standard fighter jets.
The Ukrainian president landed in an RAF C-17 aircraft amid tight security at 10.22am at Stansted airport where he was met by Rishi Sunak. He then headed to Downing Street for talks with the Prime Minister before addressing Parliament in Westminster Hall. This afternoon he was due to meet King Charles at Buckingham Palace before travelling to see Ukrainian troops being trained in Britain.
Britain has led the West in providing military support to Kyiv and Mr Sunak announced that it would be expanded to train Ukrainian pilots and marines.
It is the president’s first visit to the UK since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion last February.
The Prime Minister said: “President Zelensky’s visit to the UK is a testament to his country’s courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries.
“Since 2014, the UK has provided vital training to Ukrainian forces, allowing them to defend their country, protect their sovereignty and fight for their territory.”
The Foreign Office also hit individuals who have helped Vladimir Putin amass his personal wealth, and companies profiting from the Kremlin’s war machine, with a wave of new sanctions.
The Ukrainian president visited Joe Biden in the White House in December on his first trip outside his country since the start of the conflict. Wednesday’s visit to the UK is believed to be only his third foreign visit since the invasion.
Mr Sunak, who visited Kyiv in November, also announced that the UK’s military support programme would be expanded to train Ukrainian pilots to fly Nato-standard jets and marines. The UK is not currently planning to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine, with Downing Street having previously ruled this out for the time being on “practical grounds” given that the Typhoon and F-35 RAF jets are highly complicated planes.
Training to fly modern fighter jets takes many months so the Ukrainian pilots are not expected to have the required skills to counter any spring offensive by Putin’s army.
But Downing Street said the training will “ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated Nato-standard fighter jets in the future”. The UK was the first Nato ally to supply Ukraine with modern Western battle tanks. Ukraine troops are training on Challenger 2s, with 14 of the tanks expected to be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
The British move was followed by Germany agreeing to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, and giving the green light to other allies to deliver these German-built models. The US has also pledged to send Abrams tanks, though these could take considerable time to be delivered. The UK Government has also promised around two dozen AS90 self-propelled guns, hundreds more armoured vehicles and precision-guided missiles, as well as 100,000 artillery rounds on top of the 100,000 already sent.
UK training for Ukraine has seen 10,000 troops brought to battle readiness in the past six months, with a further 20,000 soldiers being “upskilled” this year.
Mr Zelensky’s visit comes after former PM Boris Johnson travelled to Kyiv last month.
On the battlefield, with Putin’s army massing for a spring offensive, the governor of the eastern Luhansk province Serhiy Hayday told of “maximum escalation” of Russian troops on the Kreminna frontline: “Occupiers are trying to break through our defence line.”
Russia is shipping tens of thousands of freshly-mobilised, often poorly-trained troops to the war zone where they are being hit by high casualty rates.
Ukrainian soldiers are also believed to be suffering high casualty levels. Kyiv expects Moscow to broaden its offensive in the north east and south of Ukraine.
