Britain will not be sending its fighter jets to Ukraine any time soon, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace told Sky News. The day before, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, expressed hope that the United Kingdom would be the first Western country to provide Ukraine with planes.
– Great Britain will not send fighters to Ukraine in the short term,” he said on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion Russia to Ukraine, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, quoted by Sky News.
An F-35 escorted by British RAF Typhoon fightersUK MOD
Head of the British Ministry of Defense: Nothing can be ruled out
“One of the things I’ve learned from this conflict is that nothing can be ruled out,” Wallace told Sky News.
Ben Wallace at a rally on the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in LondonPAP/EPA/ANDY RAIN
The day before Wallace’s statement, the head of the Chancellery of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Andriy Yermak he assessed that the UK “could be the country that will break the deadlock” regarding the supply of fighters to Ukraine and will be the first to take such a step. In turn, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kuleba expressed his hope on Wednesday that “the West will supply American F-16 fighters” to Ukraine.
Ukraine has been asking Western countries to send jets for months, but so far no country has agreed to provide them. Many countries have decided to send tanks or armored vehicles, and the United Kingdom has supplied Kiev with almost 200 tanks and helicopters, the British defense minister reminded. He added that the UK must ensure that if it gives Ukraine any weapons, it must also provide training on how to use them. In the case of fighter jets, this would mean sending “hundreds of men” to Ukraine, and the West has no intention of sending that many troops to war, Sky News writes.
Main photo source: UK MOD