Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says some European leaders have promised aircraft

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he had heard from some EU leaders at the summit that they were ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft to help fight the Russian invasion.

He did not provide further details on the pledge, and there was no immediate confirmation from the European countries. But Zelenskyy’s remarks could indicate one of the biggest changes in Western military support for Ukraine.

“Europe will be with us until our victory. I have heard from several European leaders … about their readiness to provide the necessary weapons and support, including aircraft,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference.

“I have some bilaterals now; we will raise the issue of fighter jets and other aircraft.”

Earlier, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, posted on social media that the question of long-range weapons and fighter jets for Ukraine had been resolved and details would follow. He later edited the post to say the issue “can be resolved.”

Western countries that have supplied arms to Ukraine have so far refused to send warplanes or long-range weapons capable of striking inside Russia.

But there are signs that this taboo could be lifted during Zelenskyy’s European tour, which begins on Wednesday with visits to London and Paris. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO’s advanced fighter jets, although he stopped short of bidding to supply the planes.

Zelenskyy received a warm welcome from European leaders and applause from the European Parliament on Thursday in Brussels, where he sought more weapons against Russia and a faster path to EU membership.

Call for tougher sanctions

Addressing a summit of 27 EU member states, he also called for tougher sanctions on Moscow and punishment for Russian leaders responsible for attacks in Ukraine nearly a year ago.

“A free Europe cannot be imagined without a free Ukraine,” he told the leaders.

“I am grateful to everyone who helped, grateful to everyone who knows how much Ukraine now needs this possibility. We need artillery guns, shells for them, modern tanks, long-range missiles, modern aircraft.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it will be Ukrainians who suffer if Britain or other Western countries provided fighter jets to Kyiv, and the line between indirect and direct Western involvement in the war is lost.

Such actions “inflame tensions, prolong the conflict and make the conflict even more painful for Ukraine,” Peskov said.