Zelenskyy seeks more weaponry in surprise visits to London, Paris
>> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought Western support for his country in surprise visits to Britain and France on Wednesday, pushing for fighter jets to battle Russian invaders in a dramatic speech to the U.K. Parliament, and then flying to Paris to meet the French and German leaders over dinner at the Elysee Palace.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy will join EU leaders at a summit in Brussels, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a “signal of European solidarity and community.”
Zelenskyy's European tour and pleas for more advanced weapons came as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land held by Moscow's forces. Western support has been key to Kyiv's surprisingly stiff defense, and the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.
Zelenskyy thanked the British people for their support since “Day One” of Moscow's invasion nearly a year ago, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said fighter jets were “part of the conversation” about aid to Ukraine.
“Nothing is off the table,” he said at an evening news conference at a British army base. “We must arm Ukraine in the short term, but we must bolster Ukraine for the long term.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs all kinds of supplies, not just planes, but also ammunition and longrange missiles
“Without this, there would be stagnation which will not bring to anything good,” he said, calling his visit to Britain “very fruitful.”
Then it was off to Paris for dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and Scholz, the German chancellor.
Zelenskyy was greeted Wednesday night on the steps of the Elysee Palace with a friendly embrace by Macron, and then all three leaders headed inside. The visit marks a turnaround in Zelenskyy's relations toward France and Germany, which earlier in the war were viewed by many in Ukraine as not doing enough to help.
“Ukraine can count on France, its European partners and allies to win the war. Russia cannot and must not win,” Macron said before their working dinner. Macron's office put out a statement confirming that Zelenskyy would attend Thursday's summit in Brussels, where EU leaders will pledge their support for the Ukrainian people.
Zelenskyy's travel to European capitals on Wednesday was just his second foreign trip since Russia invaded on Feb, 24, 2022. In December, he traveled to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden and address the U.S. Congress.
His day began when he arrived on a Royal Air Force plane in London and was greeted on the tarmac with an embrace from Sunak. They held talks at the prime minister's 10 Downing St. residence before Zelenskyy's speech to lawmakers in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest — and, on a cold winter day, unheated — part of Parliament.
“London has stood with Kyiv since Day One,” he said, repeatedly thanking Britons for their aid. The U.K. has sent Ukraine more than 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) in weapons and equipment,
Wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, he urged allies to deliver jets to Ukraine, saying combat aircraft would be “wings for freedom.”
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.”
The president was trying to soften allies' reluctance to send advanced fighter jets, both because they are complex to fly and for fear of escalating the war.
The U.K. has repeatedly said it's not practical to provide Ukraine with British warplanes. But in a shift, the government said Wednesday it was “actively looking” at whether Ukraine could be sent Western jets, and was “in discussion with our allies” about it.