British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that Ukraine had no plans to send planes to fight Russia, adding that training Ukrainian pilots was the first step for them to be able to use such planes. At the other extreme, Russia has warned London that if it sends fighter jets to Kyiv, it will have “consequences for the whole world,” according to Reuters.

“The first step to be able to provide advanced aircraft is to have soldiers or aviators capable of using them. This is a process that takes some time. We started this process today,” Sunak said at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. after the announcement that Great Britain will train Ukrainian pilots.

“Nothing has been ruled out,” Sunak said after his spokesman said earlier that Britain was “actively” considering sending British aircraft to Ukraine, and Britain’s defense secretary was considering what aircraft could be offered to Ukraine.

“The prime minister instructed the defense minister to investigate what aircraft we could provide, but to be clear, this is a long-term solution, not a short-term capability that Ukraine needs most now,” Reuters also writes.

Russia’s reaction: Military and political consequences for the whole world will be on the conscience of Great Britain

The Russian Embassy in Great Britain on Wednesday warned London against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that such a move would have serious military and political consequences for the whole world, the TASS news agency reports, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was in London on Wednesday, where he called on Britain to provide Ukraine with fighter jets as the next step in supplying the West with weapons to help Kiev fight the Russian invasion.

Britain has announced that it will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly modern fighter jets according to NATO standards, but has not yet committed to sending the planes.

In a statement quoted by Russian state news agencies, the Russian embassy said that “the bloodshed, the next round of escalation and the military-political consequences that will arise for the European continent and the whole world” that would occur due to the dispatch of advanced fighter jets to Ukraine would be on the conscience of London .

“Russia will find a way to respond to any unfriendly measures of the British side,” the embassy said, TASS quotes.