Scholz urged for Germany’s support over fighter jets

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY urged Germany to back his efforts to obtain fighter jets from the West during a visit to Berlin.

Ukraine’s president said yesterday he would raise the issue with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He added: “This is not an easy question” and went on: “We’re now working on creating a coalition of fighter jets ... I will appeal to the German side to support Ukraine in this coalition.”

Mr Zelesnky also called Germany a “true friend” in his country’s battle against Russia, as Berlin pledged unwavering support for Kyiv ahead of a widely anticipated counter-offensive.

Berlin unveiled a military package worth €2.7billion (£2.3billion), its biggest yet for Ukraine, as Mr Zelensky made his first visit to Germany since Russia’s invasion. He travelled to Berlin for talks with Mr Scholz and Frank-walter Steinmeier, the German president, after meeting Italian leaders and Pope Francis in Rome. Later yesterday, he travelled to Paris and met with President Emmanuel Macron.

Mr Zelensky’s diplomatic tour comes before an EU summit in Reykjavik and a gathering of G7 leaders in Japan.

In Berlin, he thanked Chancellor Scholz for Germany’s “powerful support” in the form of the armaments package, saying “everything in this security package will significantly strengthen our defence”.

He added: “This year, we can make the aggressor’s defeat irreversible.”

Mr Zelensky then travelled to the western city of Aachen to receive the Charlemagne award for efforts to foster European unity at a ceremony attended by Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister.