​President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Wednesday called on Britain and other countries to give Ukraine “wings for freedom” by sending fighter jets to help repel the Russian invasion. In his second trip abroad since Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24 last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles on Wednesday.

Sunak personally met Zelensky at the airport

Zelenskyi was met with applause by hundreds of MPs in Westminster Hall

• “As you told us last year, this is a war that Ukraine did not start and did not want. But this is a war that you had to fight,” House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said during Zelensky’s speech on Wednesday.
• “Our commitment to support you and your people has not weakened.”

Zelensky thanked Britain for “marching with us to the most important victory in our lives,” but repeatedly called for fighter jets, which he called “wings for freedom.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who is visiting Britain on Wednesday, said on Wednesday he would do everything possible to convince the world to provide Ukraine with the modern jets Kiev needs for its military to defeat Russia.

PHOTO: Stefan Rousseau / PA Images / Profimedia

• “We … will do everything possible and impossible for the world to provide us with modern aircraft to provide energy and protect the pilots who will protect us,” Zelensky told hundreds of MPs at Westminster Hall in London.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told British parliamentarians that in the war against Russia, “we know that freedom will win.”

• “We know that Russia will lose,” he said. “And we know for sure that victory will change the world. And these will be changes that the world needs for a long time. Great Britain is marching with us, I believe, to the most important victory of our lives.”

Fighter pilots in Ukraine are considered kings

He referred to the British monarch, King Charles, who is a pilot, and said that in Ukraine, all fighter pilots are considered kings “because there are so few of them, they are so valuable.”

We have freedom, give us wings to protect it

Zelensky then presented Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle with a fighter pilot helmet with the inscription “We have freedom, give us wings to protect it.”

PHOTO: Stefan Rousseau / PA Images / Profimedia

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, personally thanked the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson.

• “Boris, you united others when it seemed absolutely, absolutely impossible,” Zelenskyy said. “Thank you”. “Then you all showed courage and character. Strong British character,” he added.

• “You did not compromise Ukraine, and therefore you did not compromise your ideals. And so you have not compromised the spirit of these great islands. Thank you very much.”

He also thanked Prime Minister Risha Sunak and King Charles III for their support.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, received an audience with King Charles

Zelenskyi arrived at Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles III shortly after addressing members of the British Parliament and thanking them for their support during the war.

Clad in his now-famous khaki military uniform, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just left Parliament, where he says his first meeting with King Charles since taking the throne will be a “really special moment” for him.

Shortly before Zelenskyi’s arrival, Sunak’s office announced plans to expand Ukraine’s military training program to include its air force “to ensure pilots are capable of flying sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future.”

The message did not specify a time frame and did not fulfill the obligation to supply Kyiv with British aircraft. But it signals a major shift in support that could pave the way for other countries to send aircraft previously barred by countries wary of sending weapons capable of striking Russian territory.

Concluding his speech, Zelensky noted that two years ago he left the British Parliament, thanking the deputies for “delicious English tea”; now he would leave, “thanking in advance for the mighty English planes.”

At the end of his performance in London, air raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Sunak told parliament that Britain would provide Ukraine with the support it needed “to secure a decisive military victory on the battlefield this year.”

Zelenskyi was also supposed to meet with King Charles and attend the training of the Ukrainian military in Britain.

Zelensky is also expected to travel to Paris on Wednesday, where he will meet with Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During her visit to the UK, Britain announced the addition of new prominent Russian names to the sanctions blacklist, as well as plans to speed up the supply of military equipment to Kiev, including unspecified long-range weapons.

Last month, Britain became the first Western country to offer battle tanks, pledging 14 Challenger tanks just over a week before the United States and European allies pledged modern tanks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, publicly more cautious than other Western leaders about arms shipments, told lawmakers in Berlin that weapons decisions are best coordinated behind the scenes rather than announced individually by countries in a “public competition to outdo each other.”

Scholz also said he expected strong demonstrations of support for Ukraine at an EU summit this week and a new round of European sanctions against Russia on the anniversary of the invasion.