London will press allies to get Zelenski the planes he wants

During the surprise visit to the British capital, as part of the European tour that Zelenski has been leading since Saturday, when asked about previous requests for fighter jets, the Ukrainian leader said: “Today we talked about planes, a very important issue for us because we can’t control the sky. We want to create this coalition of aircraft and I’m very positive. We talked about it and I see that some decisions will be announced soon, I think, very important. But we have to work on it little more”.

Sunak has assured that the UK “will be a key part of the coalition of countries providing this support to Volodymyr and Ukraine”, and has again announced, as he had done in February, that the UK will provide training to Ukrainian pilots, presumably in British Air Force (RAF) Hawks, Eurofighter Typhoons, F-35 Lightnings and F-16s. “It’s not just the supply of aircraft, it’s also pilot training and all the logistics that go with it. The UK can play a big part in that. One thing we will be doing, starting relatively soon, is training Ukrainian pilots. We are ready to implement these plans in a relatively short period of time, which will mean that we are training Ukrainian citizens to become pilots of fully combat-ready aircraft.” Kyiv wants air superiority to cover the expected counteroffensive.

Sunak also assured that this week he will speak with other foreign leaders about the new steps in aid to Kyiv: “We are very interested in building this coalition of countries to give Volodymyr and his people the aircraft support they need.” Promising words, but for now only words, in relation to the long-awaited planes, have closed Zelenski’s European mini-tour, which since Saturday has visited Italy, the Vatican, Germany and France.

Unlike the visit on February 8, Sunak received Zelenski this Monday at Chequers, the British Prime Minister’s official country residence. In addition to “the relevant conversations” that the two leaders had, the meeting also offered a markedly symbolic tone, as there was the inevitable invocation and almost comparison of the Ukrainian leader with Winston Churchill.

Mite i fantasma de Churchill

“You are actually the first foreign leader I have had the privilege of hosting here as prime minister and there is a lot of history here,” Sunak said to the cameras, while both presidents were in one of the halls of the residence. of the sixteenth century. “Indeed, in this room where we stand, Winston Churchill delivered many of his famous speeches during the Second World War just as today your leadership, bravery and the strength of your country are an inspiration to us all “said Sunak.

Churchill remains one of Britain’s great modern myths, an artifice mostly created during Thatcherism, as the writer, film director and publisher of the New Left ReviewTariq Ali, in the book Winston Churchill, his times, his crimeswhere he undoes many of the common places around the Old Lion.

Before Zelenski landed in Chequers, Downing Street had already announced that London will supply hundreds of air defense missiles and new long-range attack drones to Kyiv. This announcement is in addition to the shipment of the long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which he already communicated last week.

Once again, Zelenski’s good connection with the United Kingdom – previously with Johnson and now with Sunak – proves to be key to increasing military aid, as it already happened at the time of the supply of tanks. London played a pivotal role in ending convince Germany to take the step.