Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Brussels was an opportunity to show that Europe is united with Kyiv. But beyond the nice words, what caught the attention of the Ukrainian president was to bring tangible results to the house, especially on the front, which is most important for the country, on weapons and especially warplanes.
“I have no right to go home without consequences,” Zelensky told reporters after his speech at the Council of Europe. “It all depends on the partners and me. It is very important for me that all negotiations yield results. This is a pragmatic point of view, not cynical. We have to put aside the emotions that we have set aside over the past 24 years.” February: we need weapons to survive, these are weapons,” he said, referring specifically to warplanes.
Yesterday in London, he received a commitment from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to train his army to fly warplanes, but the country has turned down the possibility of sending fighters to Kiev, at least in the short term. Defense Minister Ben Wallace said today that sending jets now would be like turning the Ukrainian military “from cycling to a Formula 1 car.” A Downing Street spokesperson explained that the UK is keeping a close eye on “potential escalation risks” when considering sending fighter jets to Ukraine, and that the country has “significant numbers of Typhoons and F-35s”, but “of course we will never do that”. Do anything to put the UK’s security at risk”.
One of Ukraine’s problems is that no single country can decide to send Typhoon or F-35 jets to the country, the first one gets permission from Italy, Spain and Germany, and the approval of the USA for the F-35. . This is because, as with the German Leonard 2 tanks, the country or countries of origin of the armed vehicle must give approval for its sale or donation to a particular nation. Yesterday Zelensky also met with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scolz in Paris, and the issue of more arms procurement was definitely at the center of the agenda. At that meeting, “concrete decisions were made that I did not intend to make public,” he said, adding: “We will work to strengthen our capabilities regarding the offensive direction, as well as tanks and artillery.”
However, he is unlikely to get any reassurance about the jets, and it is equally difficult to get any assurance at one of the many bilateral meetings the Council of Europe holds on the sidelines. These were more important than participation in the Summit because, as Commission president Ursula von der Leyen always repeated at her press conference, “the surrender of arms is a sovereign decision of member states over which the EU itself has no authority”.
In his message to EU leaders at the meeting, Zelenskiy reiterated his call for more weapons and the addition of warplanes and long-range missiles to military aid packages. “I want to thank you for understanding how much we need artillery, ammunition, modern tanks, long-range missiles and modern warplanes.” He then assured the press: “I heard that the necessary armament and support, including aircraft, will be provided to us. I will make a series of bilateral agreements, now we will raise the issue of warplanes.”
But the only person who publicly supported his request was Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament. The voice of the popular Maltese is certainly authoritative in Brussels, but its strength in this regard is, unfortunately, zero for Kyiv.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
