Zelenskyy, Sunak push forward on ‘fighter jet coalition’

LONDON — Britain will be ready to train Ukrainian pilots to use Western fighter jets “relatively soon,” but supplying Ukraine with the warplanes it craves is “not a straightforward thing,” U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday.

Speaking to broadcasters alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy following talks with the Ukrainian president at his Chequers country retreat, Sunak said Britain would continue to play a “key part” in the Western coalition providing aid to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy arrived in Britain on Monday morning, the latest stop in a European tour which has also seen him meet leaders in Berlin, Rome and Paris.

The Ukrainian president confirmed the pair discussed the provision of fighter jets — a crucial Kyiv demand from Western allies.

“We want to create this jet coalition,” Zelenskyy said, speaking in English. “I’m very positive with it, we spoke about it.”

“Some very important decisions” on jets will be heard “in the closest time,” he added.

The Ukrainian president was at pains to stress his gratitude to Sunak, praising the “very important” U.K. government for the support it has provided his conflict-hit country. Sunak tweeted a picture of himself embracing the Ukrainian president as he arrived for face-to-face talks Monday morning.

Ahead of the talks, No. 10 Downing Street announced the U.K. would commence “an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training.”

The training would go “hand in hand with U.K. efforts to work with other countries on providing F16 jets,” which Ukraine has been pushing for since Western nations agreed to supply Kyiv with battle tanks earlier this year, Downing Street said.

No. 10 also confirmed it would provide new long-range attack drones and more air defense missiles to Ukraine, ahead of the widely expected counteroffensive Kyiv is expected to launch in an effort to liberate Russian-occupied territories.

The pledge to provide more aid follows U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s announcement last week that Storm Shadow missiles, which will enable Kyiv to strike targets in Russian-occupied Crimea, are being delivered to Ukraine.

Asked by British journalists if he had any update on the timing of a counteroffensive, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed “more time.”

But “not too much,” he added. “I want to be very honest with you, [but] I can’t share with you.”

“There are no secrets from our friends,” Zelenskyy said, gesturing at Sunak. “But there are some secrets from our neighbors.”