After Rishi Sunak received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was on a short visit to Great Britain, on Monday, the spokesman for the British Prime Minister confirmed that Great Britain is not preparing to deliver combat aircraft to Ukraine.
Sunak and Zelensky sat down at the negotiating table at Checkers, the country residence of the British prime minister 65 kilometers from London. Great Britain will deliver hundreds of air defense missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine,
Among the latter, there will be new attack drones with a range of more than 200 kilometers.
– The British Prime Minister’s office announced in a press release about the meeting. Already last week, the British government announced that it will supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with long-range missiles and will deliver Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine with a range of 250 km. This type of missile is only suitable for carrying conventional cargo, which complements the defensive capabilities provided by similar weapons already delivered to Ukraine, including HIMARS and Harpoon missiles.
Britain is also developing a new training program for Ukrainian pilots, to help Ukraine build a new NATO-compliant air force of F-16 fighter jets. For the first time, concrete mention was made from an official British source that Ukraine could get the F-16.
Britain will begin basic flight training for Ukrainian pilots this summer, and London is seeking to cooperate with other countries in parallel with this program to deliver F-16s. The description does not say which countries will deliver these planes to Ukraine and when. The Royal Air Force does not have F-16 fighter jets.
After the two-hour meeting, the British Prime Minister’s spokesperson confirmed this
Britain has no plans to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.
Rishi Sunak also said after the session that the delivery of military aircraft is not an easy matter. Zelensky previously visited London in February, and in his speech to members of the British Houses of Parliament, he mentioned that Ukraine is asking for wings in the form of fighter jets to protect its freedom.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office in London responded to the request of the Ukrainian President in a rather restrained manner, emphasizing that the delivery of aircraft can only be considered as a long-term solution, and that Ukraine now needs the available defense capabilities in the short term. more.
