British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that British specialists would teach Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced fighter jets available to NATO countries. As noted by Reuters, the Air Force and Marine Corps will be included in the British training program for Ukrainian military personnel for the first time.
The agency also writes that the government's promise indicates a significant shift in the position of the West, which has so far refrained from providing the Ukrainian army with aircraft or other weapons with which it could strike at Russian territories far from the border. However, according to Reuters, British officials said that training pilots to handle modern British aircraft takes years.
During his visit, Zelensky addressed the British Parliament, the broadcast of the speech was published on the BBC website. “Today I will leave Parliament thanking you for the powerful British aircraft,” the President said at the end of the speech, adding to this the phrases “God save the King” and “Glory to Ukraine.”
The schedule of Zelensky's visit to the UK also includes a meeting with King Charles III and a visit to a training base for Ukrainian troops. On Thursday, February 9, the Ukrainian leader will travel to Brussels for the EU summit.
As follows from the statement of the British government, over the past six months, 10,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been trained under the current program for recruits. This year it is planned to train another 20,000 people. In particular, last week a group of Ukrainian military arrived in the UK to train on Challenger 2 tanks.
Earlier today, the UK expanded the sanctions list of Russian citizens and companies.