Volodymyr Zelensky in London to meet King Charles and Rishi Sunak

Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has ordered the ministry of defence to investigate which fighter jets Britain may be able to send to Ukraine in a significant move that may rattle the Kremlin.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky outside 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday night (AEDT). Picture: Getty Image

Britain’s prime minister Rishi Sunak has ordered the ministry of defence to investigate which fighter jets Britain may be able to send to Ukraine in a significant move that may rattle the Kremlin.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky visited Britain in a surprise trip on Wednesday to meet with King Charles, address Westminster parliament and then to tour some of the the Ukraine military personnel in the south of England being trained by coalition forces, including 70 Australians.

His surprise visit had a significant impact, with Mr Sunak announcing alongside Mr Zelensky on Wednesday afternoon that “nothing is off the table” when queried if Britain would begin supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.

Mr Sunak said that the west must arm Ukraine in the short term and bolster it in the long term.

“When it comes to fighter combat aircraft, of course they are part of the conversation,” Mr Sunak said to reporters alongside Mr Zelensky at a southern England military base. “Nothing is off the table.”

However Mr Sunak warned that training fighter pilots to be able to control the jets was a first step and it would take some time.

However Mr Zelensky, dressed in his trademark green fatigues, responded “Come on, we will be sending you pilots who’ve already trained for two and a half years’’, stressing that the high tech planes were needed to avoid a stagnation of the war, which has been ongoing for nearly 12 months.

Earlier Mr Zelensky had pressed parliamentarians for even greater support: “Thank you in advance for all your British planes,’’ he said.

He presented the speaker of the House Sir Lindsay Hoyle with a helmet with from an ace Ukrainian pilot with a written message: “We have freedom; give us wings to protect it.”

To loud applause Mr Zelensky said: “London has stood with Kyiv from Day 1. We know that freedom will win.”

However Downing Street briefed journalists saying that Britain would begin training Ukrainian fighter pilots “as soon as possible” as part of medium to long term planning to ensure Ukraine “has every possible capability”.

Mr Zelensky addresses British MPs in Westminster Hall on Thursday morning (AEDT). Picture: AFP

Britain has already committed to provide Challenger 2 tanks, as well as training for Ukrainian personnel to be able to man the tanks, and was instrumental in pressing the United States and Germany to provide other heavy grade tanks in preparation for a spring time Russian offensive.

Despite its latest promises, the British government, which has helped train more than 10,000 novice Ukrainian soldiers, is cautious of inflaming the war beyond Ukraine borders.

Mr Zelensky is headed to Paris on Wednesday evening to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to continue his lobbying for more aggressive European supply of weaponry.