IRIA News

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy visited the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium on February 8-9, 2023, on his second trip abroad since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started almost one year ago.

The Ukrainian President met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles in London before delivering a speech at the British Parliament. He urged his western allies and European partners to provide his forces with fighter jets and advanced weaponry as his country braces for an expected Russian attack in the coming spring.

“London has stood with Kyiv since day one,” he said as he spoke at the British Parliament. “Since the first seconds and minutes of the full-scale war. Great Britain, you extended your helping hand when the world had not yet come to understand how to react.” Zelenskyy also presented a helmet of a Ukrainian fighter pilot to the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, signed with a message, “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”

Ukraine’s President @ZelenskyyUa received a hero’s welcome in the UK and was greeted by Prime Minister @RishiSunak. 🇬🇧 is ramping up support for 🇺🇦 including enhancing training for Ukrainian troops and pilots pic.twitter.com/WRUZjXMtiE

— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) February 8, 2023

Zelenskyy’s visit to the UK

The Ukrainian president touched down in London on a rather surprising and previously unannounced visit. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted Zelensky at Stansted Airport as he disembarked a UK Royal Air Force C-17 transport plane. Later, he traveled to Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III.

During his meeting with the Ukrainian President, the king said “We’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can’t tell you.” Zelenskyy also met with Ukrainian troops being trained by British forces. While at a press conference, he said that his battlefield priority for Ukraine is to obtain more weapons.

Despite his repeated calls for more fighter planes, there was no immediate confirmation from the British government to provide Ukraine with fighter jets, however, as a result of his trip to the UK, Britain announced that it would send more military equipment to Kyiv to help counter a possible Russian spring offensive. Prime Minister Sunak said the UK would expand training to Ukrainian fighter pilots and marines, while also promising a long-term investment in Ukraine’s military.

During his joint press conference with the British Prime Minister, Zelenskyy suggested being provided with the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft at the earliest. Sunak noted that it takes three years to train a Typhoon fighter pilot from scratch, to which Zelensky responded, “I didn’t even know it takes three years to train a pilot like that.” He added that “we will be sending you pilots who have already trained for two and a half years.”

The UK announced that it would start training Ukrainian pilots on NATO-standard aircraft, however, The UK has so far refused to send its Typhoon or F-35 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying it was not “the right approach.” According to some sources, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is also investigating which fighter jets can be given to the Ukrainian military.

Zelenskyy’s trip to Paris

After concluding his trip to the UK, the Ukrainian President proceeded to visit France on the same day. During his trip to Paris, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz as he restated his request for fighter jets and advanced weapons.

While speaking at a news conference with Macron and Scholz, Zelenskyy said that France and Germany have the potential to change the course of the war with their weapons and support. He said the supply of the jets had been during his meeting with the German and French leaders. He warned there was “very little time” to provide the weaponry.

Hommage à l’Ukraine et à son peuple.
Hommage à toi, cher Volodymyr, pour ton courage et ton engagement. pic.twitter.com/6sN2iVUWrl

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 9, 2023

French President Macron said that Ukraine could count on France’s support and that his country was “determined to help Ukraine to victory and the re-establishment of its legitimate rights”. Scholz also said, “the position is unchanged, Russia must not win this war.” Both German and French leaders have faced criticism from their western allies for being slow in providing support to Ukraine.

After facing severe pressure from its European partners and NATO allies, last week, Germany finally announced that it would be sending several Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. France has also given 12 Caesar cannons to Ukraine in recent times. French leadership has also indicated that sending fighter jets to Ukraine was not off-limits, feeding a debate over whether sending warplanes to Ukraine would be the next step for Western allies.

Address at the European Parliament   

After finishing his trip to the UK and France, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy traveled to Brussels with French President Macron to deliver an address at a special session of the European Parliament. He received a standing ovation from at the European Parliament as he stood at the podium to deliver his address.  

Ukraine has applied to join the EU and is urging the bloc’s leaders to throw its weight behind a swift course to accession, which usually takes many years. In his speech to the European Parliament in Brussels, President Zelenskyy repeatedly linked Ukraine to a European way of life as a way he reinforced Ukraine’s admission into the EU.

He noted that together with Europe, Ukrainians were defending themselves against the “biggest anti-European force of the modern world.” Volodymyr Zelensky said, “We have to enhance the dynamics of our cooperation, we have to do it faster than the aggressor”. Ukraine’s leader repeated his call on the EU leaders to provide fighter jets and arms for the war against Russia.

Zelenskyy said during a press conference that he had heard from several EU leaders at a summit that European nations were ready to send aircraft to Ukraine. He said, “Europe will be with us until our victory. I’ve heard it from a number of European leaders…about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft.”

The Ukrainian president’s recent trip to Europe repeatedly explored the themes of attaining fighter jets and advanced weapons as well as reaffirming Ukraine’s deep links to Europe. As a result of this trip, Ukraine aims to attain an early advantage for the upcoming wave of Russian offense.