Zelensky courts allies for jets in UK, France first

Volodymyr Zelensky has made his first visits to the UK and France since the Russian invasion almost one year ago, pressing his allies for more weaponry and in particular fighter jets.

King Charles welcomes Volodymyr Zelensky to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Twenty four hours after Volodymyr Zelensky’s impassioned and dramatic plea for fighter jets to the parliament and to the King, a dose of reality has engulfed Downing Street.

While Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s talk on Wednesday was about ruling nothing out, and briefings by the prime ministers office that the Ministry of Defence was to analyse its stockpile of military planes, by Thursday there was a distinct pause.

Defence minister Ben Wallace, in Rome for a speech and not having to eyeball Mr Zelensky, told the BBC: ”This is not a simple case of towing an aircraft to the border. Britain knows what Ukraine needs and is very happy to help in many ways trying to achieve the effect.

“Those same effects can be done, but potentially through a different way - and without taking months, which of course gifting fighter jets would take.”

Britain has begun training Ukrainian pilots, adding to the tank training, and basic survival and weaponry skills it has provided in the past eight months for more than 10,000 new Ukrainian military recruits.

Britain has supplied Ukraine with more than A$4.5bn of military equipment, including various air defence systems, Challenger 2 tanks, self propelled artillery guns, ammunition, multiple launch rocket systems, next generation light anti tank weapons and maritime missiles. Mr Wallace said he had to ensure the UK and Nato had sufficient aircraft for their own defences.

But Mr Zelensky’s fighter jet campaign tour continues at pace. It has taken him from London across the Channel to the Elysee Palace on Wednesday night where he had a willing ear in French president Emmanuel Macron and a cautious response from German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Emmanuel Macron is flanked by Mr Zelensky and Olaf Scholz at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Picture: AFP

Zelensky said the meeting with the leaders of the two powerful European nations have resulted in “certain agreements which are not public, but which are positive”.

He added: “I don’t want to prepare the Russian Federation, which is constantly threatening us with new aggressions.’’

Then it was onto the European Parliament in Brussels where Mr Zelensky repeated a message he has given to the World Economic Forum in Davos and the UK’s tackling sexual violence in conflict conference in London: “We have to enhance the dynamics of our co-operation, we have to do it faster than the aggressor”.

Mr Zelensky has stressed that his country is now the bulwark protecting Europe from Russia’s aggression, and demanded quick accession to join the European Union.

“Ukraine is going to be a member of the European Union,” he said, adding that Ukraine was currently blocking Russia which is the “biggest anti-European force of the modern world”. He insisted “Europe will be with us until our victory. I’ve heard it from a number of European leaders ... about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft.”

Mr Zelensky revealed that Ukraine had intercepted “a plan of destruction of Moldova by the Russian intelligence” and that it was designed to “break the democracy of Moldova and establish control over Moldova”.

But European leaders are cautious that the supplying of weaponry to Ukraine shouldn’t stretch into more direct Western involvement in the conflict, inadvertently dragging other European nations in conflict with Russia.

Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni was critical of Mr Zelensky’s private meetings with Mr Macron and Mr Scholz. She said:”I believe our strength is community and unity …but there are times when favouring internal public opinion risks being to the detriment of the cause, and this seems to me to be one of those cases.”

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warned about western involvement triggering a NATO article 5 situation between NATO and Russia while Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said any agreement required a united approach from all Nato country leaders.