President Volodymyr Zelensky used a visit to the U.K. on Wednesday to urge allies to send combat aircraft to his war-torn country, which Britain said it would consider in the "long term".
In London, Zelensky held talks with Sunak and also met with King Charles III -- still dressed in an olive-green sweatshirt -- and thanked him for his support of Ukrainian refugees.
Here are five takeaways from the visit…
1) He went down a storm in Parliament
Zelensky, dressed in his usual green fatigues, received waves of applause as he made a historic address to both the lower and upper houses of the British parliament, AFP reports.
"I appeal to you and the world... for combat aircrafts for Ukraine, wings for freedom," he said. "The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most... important victory of our lifetime.
"It will be a victory over the very idea of the war," he added.
Finalizing his speech, Zelensky expressed his gratitude in an exceptional manner, saying: "...leaving a British parliament two years ago I thanked you for delicious English tea.
"And I will be leaving the parliament today thanking all of you in advance for powerful English planes."
He also brought a decorative hat box with him, a showman's prop that contained a pointed message to U.K. parliamentarians and the West in general.
Inside sat a Ukrainian air force ace's helmet, and the president's message delivered in person to 2,000 British dignitaries was: give me fighter planes, and I'll finish the war.
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Ukraine's leader pressed at British heart strings when he evoked "the so few" pilots defending his skies from Russia's invasion.
It was also "the few" of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that wartime prime minister Winston Churchill praised for saving Britain from Nazi invasion in the summer of 1940.
Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, holds the helmet of one of the most successful Ukrainian pilots, inscribed with the words "We have freedom, give us wings to protect it". Pic: AFP.
2) He got a pledge on fighter jets. Sort of.
Britain said it would consider sending Ukraine fighter jets but only in the "long term".
"The prime minister has tasked the defence secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give but, to be clear, this is a long-term solution rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most now," Sunak's spokesman said.
The U.K. has also offered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots on top of an existing programme that has already prepared 10,000 troops for battle.
But Sunak's office warned that training Ukraine pilots to use state-of-the-art British jets would be a long process.
"We are keen to do whatever is possible to get these pilots trained up as fast as possible," said the spokesman.
"But these are complex pieces of military equipment and... the current training period for U.K. pilots is around five years," he added.
3) Sunak gave a timetable for victory
After meeting Zelensky, Sunak said the U.K. would continue "to support Ukraine to ensure decisive military victory on the battlefield, this year".
Zelensky is greeted at Stansted Airport by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Pic: AFP PHOTO / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE.
4) There will be more sanctions
The British government announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
It would hit six organizations providing military equipment such as drones, as well as target eight individuals and one organization connected to "nefarious financial networks that help maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites," the government said in a statement.
Overall, the U.K. has sanctioned over 1,300 individuals and entities since Putin unleashed his invasion nearly a year ago.
5) The trip isn’t over yet
As the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion looms and Ukraine braces for a fresh Russian offensive in the east, Zelensky is pushing ever harder for friendly nations to send tanks, jets, and missiles.
Zelensky is due in Paris late Wednesday, according to a French government source.
EU officials are hoping he will head to Brussels on Thursday.
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Comments ( 1)
They are going to need pilots now. That know how to pilot the jets now. Not in 5 years.