What fighter jets has Volodymyr Zelensky asked for and what might he get?
The Independent says Addressing MPs in a packed Westminster Hall, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that he was “thanking [us] in advance for powerful English planes”. He then presented speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle with the helmet of a Ukrainian pilot inscribed: “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.”
Hours earlier, Rishi Sunak had announced that Britain would offer training to Ukrainian pilots to fly modern warplanes: they are likely to undergo courses on RAF Hawks, Eurofighter Typhoons and F-35 Lightnings. There is already a plan in place to train Ukrainian helicopter pilots at the Shawbury base in Shropshire, as Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton confirmed to the Commons defence committee last week.
Last month, French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said his country was considering a request to train Ukrainian pilots on French warplanes, while in the US, Congress has approved $100m (£83m) to train Ukrainians on American planes as part of the National Defence Authorization Act.
