In a significant development, the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte, have reached an agreement to establish an “international coalition” aimed at offering fighter jet assistance to Ukraine.
The UK Prime Minister’s Office indicated in a statement that Sunak and Rutte explored international support for Ukraine.
This particular military equipment has been a crucial requirement for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has sought the support of Western allies in countering the Russian forces in his country.
“The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rutte agreed that they would work to build an international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting with everything from training to procuring F-16 jets,” said the statement.
The new development follows Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s second-ever visit to the UK since the beginning of the riots with Russia.
Great Britain – meeting with @RishiSunak. Spoke about defense and very important British leadership in military coalitions.
I am grateful to the ?? for the decision to train our pilots. We are creating a coalition to train pilots on modern Western aircraft.
We continue our work… pic.twitter.com/BFznW8dNhf
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 15, 2023
It was also indicated that the UK was committed to making sure Ukraine have their “rightful place” in NATO.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his belief that Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO and the leaders agreed on the importance of allies providing long-term security assistance to Ukraine to guarantee they can deter against future attacks,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Aljazeera had in January reported the United States unwillingness to offer such support while emphasising the rapid advantage it could give the Ukranians over the Russians.
French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier volunteered to train Ukrainian fighter pilots but declined to send warplanes to Kyiv.