Ukraine war: Zelensky asks France and Germany for fighter jets

Ukraine's person has taken his petition for combatant jets to France and Germany aft gathering UK officials.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met the 2 countries' leaders successful Paris connected Wednesday evening, wherever they pledged ongoing enactment to Ukraine.

France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz restated their content that Russia indispensable not triumph the war.

Mr Zelensky volition marque much requests for jets erstwhile helium meets European Union leaders successful Brussels connected Thursday.

He believes the combatant jets and long-range missiles are important successful summation to the Leopard 2 tanks Western nations person precocious committed to supplying.

Speaking astatine a associated quality league connected Wednesday evening with Mr Macron and Mr Scholz, Mr Zelensky said France and Germany had imaginable to beryllium "game-changers" successful the conflict against Russia by providing Ukraine with conflict tanks, modern combatant planes and long-range missiles.

He said the proviso of the jets had been discussed, and warned determination was "very small time" to supply the weaponry.

Mr Macron said Ukraine could number connected France's enactment and that the state was "determined to assistance Ukraine to triumph and the re-establishment of its morganatic rights".

Mr Scholz besides said: "The presumption is unchanged: Russia indispensable not triumph this war."

Whether that means the 2 nations whitethorn perpetrate to supplying combatant jets is unclear for now.

Both the French president and German chancellor person astatine times faced disapproval for being excessively dilatory to enactment Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky has antecedently expressed vexation with Mr Macron, who continued to clasp telephone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin aft the invasion.

But the Ukrainian president told French paper Le Figaro helium believed Mr Macron had changed. He said his committedness to enactment Ukraine to triumph and the information helium "opened the door" to vessel deliveries past period showed this.

Mr Zelensky's Thursday sojourn to Brussels comes aft helium addressed the UK Parliament connected Wednesday.

There, helium besides urged London to proviso combatant jets to enactment Ukraine's warfare efforts.

"Freedom volition triumph - we cognize Russia volition lose," helium told a assemblage of MPs and peers successful Westminster Hall, adding the UK was with his state connected a march to "the astir important triumph of our lifetime".

Downing Street said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was investigating what craft the UK could perchance offer, but emphasised this was "a semipermanent solution" and that grooming pilots could instrumentality years.

Russia has warned determination would beryllium a "response" from Moscow if anyone did supply Ukraine with aircraft.