‘Give Us Wings’: Inside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's surprise visits to UK, Europe
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his Western allies to send combat aircraft as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive with the war soon completing one year. He met British PM Rishi Sunak, King Charles, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz in London and Paris
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought Western support for his country in surprise visits to Britain and France on Wednesday. This is his second trip abroad since Russia invaded his country nearly a year ago. AP
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The Ukrainian president pushed for fighter jets to battle Russian invaders in a dramatic speech to the UK Parliament and then flew to Paris to meet French and German leaders over dinner at the Élysée Palace. AP
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During the trilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Élysée Palace, President Emmanuel Macron said France would stand firmly by Ukraine in its war against Russia. AP
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After meeting with Zelenskyy in Paris, French president Emmanuel Macron’s office also confirmed that the Ukrainian leader would join EU leaders in Brussels, who “will reiterate Europeans’ unwavering support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.” AP
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President Zelenskyy’s visit comes hours after he addressed a joint session of the British parliament in London. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Zelenskyy held talks at 10 Downing Street residence before the latter’s speech to lawmakers in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall. AP
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The Ukrainian president thanked the British people for their support since “Day One” of Moscow’s invasion nearly a year ago, as fighter jets were “part of the conversation” about aid to Ukraine. Wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, he urged allies to deliver jets to Ukraine, saying combat aircraft would be “wings for freedom.” AP
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Additionally, President Zelenskyy and PM Sunak signed a declaration of unity at a military facility in Lulworth, Dorset in southern England. Notably, More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained in the UK, and Britain says it will train 20,000 more in 2023. AFP
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Zelenskyy also went to Buckingham Palace, where he met with King Charles III, who told him that “we’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long.” In his Parliament speech, Zelenskyy noted that Charles was a qualified military pilot. “The king is an air force pilot,” Zekenskyy said, and “in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.” AP
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In a dramatic gesture, Zelenskyy presented the Speaker of the House of Commons with a Ukrainian air force helmet, inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.” AP
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The president was trying to soften the allies’ reluctance to send advanced fighter jets, both because they are complex to fly and for fear of escalating the war. AP
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PM Sunak and President Zelenskyy flew by helicopter to Lulworth Camp, a base in southwest England, where they met Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challenger 2 tanks the UK is sending as part of the hundreds that Kyiv says it needs. AFP
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