Why Ukraine needs British war planes

‘We have freedom,’ said Zelensky in his address to Westminster Hall. ‘Give us wings to protect it!’ This sums up the message of his visit to the UK: to thank Britain for the weapons, without which Ukraine would not have survived so far, but to ask for planes. The last time he was in London, he said, he left enjoying delicious English tea. ‘I will be leaving parliament today, thanking you in advance for powerful English planes’. His audience laughed – but Zelensky is certainly not joking.

Zelensky spoke about Ukrainian troops going ‘deep into occupied territory’ but he believes this cannot be done without bombers. Ukraine’s Soviet-era air force is not enough. For Zelensky, this is the next step. So far, the US and its Nato allies have drawn the line at sending jets. Early on in the war, Washington intervened to stop Poland proposing the deployment of aircraft to Kyiv.