The debates around the deliveries of fighter planes to Ukraine have occupied the West for several weeks, against a backdrop of fears of a stopover in the conflict. Thursday, the day after a surprise visit by Volodymyr Zelensky to London, then to Paris, the British government, “aware of the risks of escalation”, stressed that it was acting “prudently”, rejecting the responsibility for any exacerbation of the conflict on the Russia.
During the visit of the Ukrainian president, London announced that the British army will soon train Ukrainian fighter pilots in the use of NATO-standard aircraft, while promising to study the possibility of future deliveries “to long term” of fighter aircraft. “We are taking these decisions cautiously and after careful consideration,” Prime Minister spokesman Rishi Sunak told the press when asked about the reluctance of some of kyiv’s Western allies.
Heavy threats from the Russian ambassador to the UK
“Once again, I would like to stress that it is Russia, and not Ukraine or NATO, (…) that is causing the situation to escalate,” added the spokesperson. Rishi Sunak stressed on Wednesday that “nothing” was “excluded” concerning military aid to kyiv and that the delivery of planes, requested by Volodymyr Zelensky before the British Parliament, was “of course part of the discussions”.
London estimates that the training of pilots will take three years, the Ukrainian soldiers being familiar with Soviet-designed aircraft and not NATO standards. “Britain did not say that it was necessarily going to send fighter jets to Ukraine,” said Defense Minister Ben Wallace, visiting Rome. “What is said is that we will start training to improve Ukraine’s resilience probably after the conflict,” the minister added.
The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom on Wednesday promised a “response” if London decides to send fighter jets to Ukraine: “I would like to remind officials in London: in such a scenario, the bloody harvest of the next escalation cycle will be on your conscience, together with the military and political consequences for the European continent and the whole world”.