London, Feb 8 (AFP/APP): Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the UK on Wednesday, Britain said, in the Ukrainian leader’s second overseas trip since Russian troops invaded his country nearly a year ago.
London used the announcement of the visit to say that it would offer fighter jet training to Ukraine as Western allies debate how much military aid to give Kyiv amid warnings of an impending Russian offensive in the east.
Downing Street said Zelensky would meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and address parliament, announcing that the UK was planning “to train fighter jet pilots and marines” from the Ukrainian armed forces.
“The prime minister will offer to bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future,” Sunak’s office said.
The training would “ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future”, it added.
Sunak will also “offer to begin an immediate training programme for marines”, it added.
In December, Zelensky flew to the United States on his first foreign trip since Russia’s invasion, where he appealed for long-term US support in Congress and held talks at the White House with President Joe Biden.
He subsequently stopped in Poland on his return home for talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Zelensky has been pressing his Western allies for heavy tanks amid warnings that Russia is building up men and tanks for another major offensive in the east.
Moscow said Tuesday that Russian forces were advancing towards Bakhmut and Vugledar — two key centres of fighting in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, now the flashpoint of the war.
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