Britain will not send Typhoon jets to Ukraine in the near future, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said, but he offered another solution to Kyiv’s desire for fighter jets.

Typhoon jets would be too difficult for Ukrainian pilots and would involve sending hundreds of British troops on the ground to support them, Wallace said, according to The Mirror and The Guardian.

“What we need to do when we give something away is to make sure we also provide the right training,” he said.

“For example, donating a fighter jet involves thousands of people – engineers, pilots, training – the more complex the platforms, the more of them,” Wallace explained.

“The West will not send troops to Ukraine in such numbers – if you were to send Typhoons (planes), you would have to send 200 people from the RAF, and we will not do that, I have made that clear,” he insisted.

But Britain has another viable solution

But Wallace presented a solution to the problem, saying that Britain would help countries supplying Ukraine with Soviet or Russian aircraft to cover air defense shortages.

“If a country wants to provide a Russian or Soviet model such as the MiG 29 – and some NATO countries do – then the UK will do everything possible to supplement with our own aircraft or even provide some form of air policing for cover. their loss of capability,” a British official told Sky News.

He echoed the idea in another interview on Friday with Times Radio:

“Another quick way Ukraine can benefit from fighter jets is for those countries in Europe that have Russian Soviet fighter jets – MiG 29 or Su-24 – if they want to donate them, we can use our fighters to replace their shortages and give them safety,” Wallace said.

His words came after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted on Thursday that Ukraine should get what it is asking for.

“Now is the time to give President Zelensky the tools Ukrainians need to get the job done. The last year has taught us that sooner or later the West gives Ukrainians what they need. And if this is a choice – sooner or later – let’s make it sooner, for the sake of Ukraine and the world. A quick victory for Ukraine is a humane, compassionate and economically rational goal, Johnson said.