On February 8, Ukrainian President V.Zelensky visited London. Kiev will continue to receive British military aid with more modern weapons. Russia warned Britain of the consequences of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to London. This is his second overseas trip since the outbreak of hostilities. Prior to that, at the end of December last year, President Zelensky visited Washington, where he held talks with President Joe Biden and addressed the US Congress.
In London, Ukrainian President V. Zelensky had a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, addressed the British Parliament, visited a training ground for Ukrainian soldiers. Hours before the Ukrainian leader’s arrival in London, the British prime minister’s office announced an expansion of the Ukrainian military training program from 10,000 in 2022 to 20,000 in 2023.
The program will be expanded to train fighter pilots and marines. According to the announcement, “the training will enable pilots to fly modern NATO-standard fighters in the future.” Last week, Ukrainian tank crews went to the UK to receive training in the operation of the Challenger 2 tanks, which the British government approved the decision to supply to Kiev in January, 12 tanks will be delivered.
Addressing the British Parliament, President of Ukraine V.Zelensky thanked the UK. “London has supported Kiev from day one, from the very first moments of the war,” he said. President Zelensky called on London to continue to impose sanctions on Russia and stressed the importance of the transfer of British weapons, including long-range weapons and tanks.
According to the British House of Commons, the UK ranks second in military aid to Ukraine, following the US. In addition, Britain became the first country to supply weapons to Kiev following the outbreak of hostilities. In 2022, the volume of military assistance to Kiev amounted to 2.3 billion pounds, the government of this country promised to maintain this level in 2023.
Over the past year, London has supplied Kiev with air defense systems (including 1,000 anti-aircraft missile systems, thousands of missiles), military equipment, anti-mine weapons, radar, multiple launch missile systems , long-range artillery, 200 armored vehicles and other weapons. The delivery of the tanks is expected to take place in the coming months. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that London is considering handing over fighter jets to Kiev. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later stated, the UK does not rule out such a possibility. In addition, according to Sky News, he asked Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to find out what types of aircraft are likely to be delivered to the Ukrainian military.
In light of this new development, the Russian Embassy in London warned that the delivery of British fighters to the Kiev regime would lead to a “bloody harvest” of the next round of escalation, as well as consequences. political-military for the European continent and for the entire world”. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the Ukrainian military will use Western military aircraft in airstrikes on residential areas of the Donetsk, Lugansk, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions under the protection of the Russian Federation. Russia. For its part, Russia will seek to respond to any unfriendly steps by the British side.
