The UK Government has clarified that it will in no case immediately send military aircraft to Ukraine, although it does not rule out in the medium and long term this possibility, called for on Wednesday in London by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that sending fighter jets is part of the negotiations with Kiev, but the head of defense, Ben Wallace, warned Thursday in statements to the BBC that any step in this direction would take months.
«It is not as simple as bringing a plane to the border,» said Wallace, who favors for now other types of aid that would contribute in the short term to improve the military capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. London is targeting long-range missiles or drones, although it will include military aircraft pilots and marines in the training programs that already exist for the Ukrainian forces.
Zelenski, however, explicitly called for the dispatch of aircraft in a speech to the UK Parliament, seeking a new international «coalition» following the success in the previous appeal to revive tanks. The Ukrainian leader posited the planes as «wings» to achieve Ukraine’s «freedom» from Russia.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
