Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a surprise visit to London on Wednesday. Not only did he meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the program also included a speech in Westminster Hall, an audience with King Charles and, last but not least, a visit to Ukrainian soldiers who are being trained in Great Britain. In the evening we should continue to Paris. There, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz await the Ukrainian President in the Élysée Palace. Finally, on Thursday, Zelensky will be a guest at the EU summit in Brussels.
The Ukrainian President’s trip to Europe is his second publicly known trip abroad since the Russian war of aggression began almost a year ago. Selensky traveled to Washington shortly before Christmas, with a stopover in Poland. Downing Street is very proud that he is now visiting the United Kingdom first on his trip to Europe. According to London’s reading, this clearly shows that Ukraine sees Great Britain as its most important ally alongside the USA. For the British prime minister, the fact that Zelensky first visited London, and only then Paris and Brussels, has symbolic power that should not be underestimated, especially after Brexit.
Support for Sunak
In any case, Zelensky’s visit came at a good time for Sunak. Domestically, the prime minister is under a lot of pressure. Great Britain is experiencing the biggest wave of strikes since the 1980s this winter, the polls from Sunak’s Conservative Party are miserable, so of course it helps that he can show himself at Zelensky’s side this Wednesday. There is still broad support among the British public for continuing to support Ukraine with military means.
And so Sunak stood in parliament on Wednesday afternoon and said: “President Zelensky’s visit is a testament to the courage, determination and fighting spirit of his country and testimony to the unshakeable friendship between our two countries.” The Prime Minister announced that the British training program for Ukrainian soldiers would be expanded. Around 10,000 Ukrainians have undergone military training in the UK in the past six months, and another 20,000 are expected to follow this year. They will not only be trained in handling the British Challenger main battle tank, in the future fighter pilots and marines will also be trained. According to Downing Street, Ukrainian pilots should also be able to fly fighter jets.
When Zelensky appeared on Wednesday afternoon at Westminster Hall, the part of Britain’s Houses of Parliament where Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was laid out last autumn, he first paid tribute to the British people for their support of his country. “London have helped Kyiv since day one,” he said. Selenskij thanked Sunak for the main battle tank deliveries, but he especially thanked his predecessor: “Boris, you brought others together when it seemed absolutely impossible.” Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is standing with the other members of the House of Commons and Lords in Westminster Hall, nodded to the President.
A gift for the British
Zelensky’s message this Wednesday is clear: “The world needs Britain’s leadership.” Because one thing is certain: “Freedom will win. Russia will lose.” As befits a guest, Zelensky has brought a present. He presented a Ukrainian military pilot’s helmet to Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons. It said in handwriting: “We have freedom, give us wings to protect it”. (“We have freedom, give us the wings to protect it”) Zelenskij was demanding what he had been asking for for a long time: the delivery of fighter planes. And as with main battle tanks, he’s hoping Britain will be the first to say yes.
At the end of his speech, Zelensky recalled his first trip to London as Ukrainian President, two years ago. At that time, he said, he thanked the Ukrainians for the delicious English tea. This time he would like to say thank you in advance for the powerful English aircraft. And “by the way,” he added, it was almost five o’clock in the afternoon, so tea time. In other words: high time.
He didn’t need to convince at least one of those present this Wednesday. Boris Johnson has already called on the British government to supply Ukraine with all the weapons it needs. In the past week, however, Downing Street was still reluctant. The delivery of fighter jets is “not practicable”, it was said, after all it takes some time to train the Ukrainian military so that it can also operate the aircraft. But this training is about to begin.