London to form ‘coalition’ to supply Ukraine with fighter jets

Updated on 05/16/2023 21:01

London and The Hague want to form a “coalition” for fighter jet supplies to Ukraine. This was announced by the office of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday evening.

More news about the war in Ukraine

Great Britain and the Netherlands want to forge an “international coalition” to supply Ukraine with fighter jets. The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte agreed on such a course of action on the fringes of the Council of Europe summit in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, a spokesman for the British government said on Tuesday evening. Ukraine should receive F-16 fighter jets and also be supported in training.

Military aid for Ukraine: NATO against fighter jets so far

During visits to Italy, Germany, France and Great Britain in the past few days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has solicited extensive new military aid and support for the establishment of a “fighter jet coalition”. After a meeting with Sunak on Monday, Zelenskyj was already optimistic about this.

So far, the NATO states have not wanted to meet Kiev’s demand for modern western combat aircraft. Sunak and Rutte now want to work to “build an international coalition to provide Ukraine with fighter jet capabilities and support them with everything from training to the procurement of F16 jets,” the London government spokesman said. In Reykjavik, Sunak also reiterated his conviction that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also taking part in the summit meeting in Iceland. Selenskyj should be connected via video. (afp)