Zelenskyy visits UK for first time since Russia-Ukraine war began, wins pledge to train pilots on NATO fighter jets

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday arrived in the UK for his only second overseas trip since Russia’s invasion began nearly a year ago.

Zelenskyy is due to address the UK parliament alongside meetings with prime minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III.

Zelenskyy was received by Sunak at the Stansted airport north of London, before the pair met for talks at 10 Downing Street.

“The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

“And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership,” he added.

Footage of the meeting between President #Zelenskyy and #British Prime Minister Rishi #Sunak. pic.twitter.com/YRqOetYIFR

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 8, 2023

The UK government said it would offer advanced training for Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and marines, as Western allies debate stepping up military aid for Kyiv against a feared Russian offensive in the east.

After London, Zelenskyy is expected to visit Brussels on Thursday, in the buildup to the one-year anniversary of the war on 24 February.

Ahead of the trip, president Joe Biden promised that the United States would support Ukraine for the long haul.

“We’re going to stand with you, as long as it takes,” Biden said in the president’s annual State of the Union speech.

“Our nation is working for more freedom, more dignity, more peace — not just in Europe, but everywhere,” Biden said, addressing Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, who was in attendance.

UK trains Ukrainian troops

After the Downing Street talks and his speech in parliament’s historic Westminster Hall, Zelenskyy was due to join Sunak on a visit to Ukrainian troops receiving training by the UK military in southwest England.

Britain says it has already trained 10,000 Ukrainian troops “to battle readiness” over the past six months and will train a further 20,000 this year.

The new UK training will “ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future”, the UK said, although Western countries have so far ruled out sending jets themselves.

Deadliest 24 hours for Russian troops: Ukraine

Ukraine on Tuesday said the last 24 hours were the deadliest of the war so far for Russian troops, as Moscow hurls tens of thousands of freshly mobilised soldiers and mercenaries into relentless winter assaults in the east.

The Ukrainian military increased its running tally of Russian military dead by 1,030 overnight to 133,190, and described the increase as the highest of the war so far. It also said its troops destroyed 25 Russian tanks in the last two days.

The report of enemy dead could not be independently confirmed, and Moscow denies its forces have suffered losses on such a scale while also claiming to have killed huge numbers of Ukrainians.

Moscow said Tuesday that Russian forces were advancing towards Bakhmut and Vugledar — two key centres of fighting in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, now the flashpoint of the war.

On Tuesday, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands promised that Ukraine would get at least 100 tanks in the “coming months”, as the German defence minister visited Kyiv.

The three European governments also said training and support would be sent for the Leopard 1 tanks, ahead of the delivery of more advanced tanks in the future.

Last week, Sunak said sending the UK’s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets to Kyiv would require “months if not years” of training and that he was looking for the most effective way of helping Kyiv secure victory.

British defence secretary Ben Wallace has also warned that supplying fighter jets to Ukraine would not be a “magic wand” in the war, although he refused to rule out the idea.

The United States has so far rejected any deliveries of F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, but other partners, including Poland, have shown themselves more open to the idea.

Zelenskyy stopped off in Poland on his way home from Washington in December.

Germany recently gave the green light for Leopard battle tanks to be sent by allies but while Berlin has now moved, other nations that previously committed to sending the tanks now appear to be stalling.

Zelenskyy last week urged Western countries to speed up deliveries of weapons — particularly long-range missiles — so his forces can fend off Russian advances in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had held a “focussed” call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the need for more sanctions and military aid ahead of the anniversary.

“Russia would be making a grave mistake if it thought anyone would get tired of fighting the evil it brings,” Kuleba tweeted.

With inputs from agencies

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