FirstFT: UK considers jets for Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s appeal

Britain is now looking into sending combat aircraft to Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for western fighter jets in an impassioned plea for “wings for freedom” in the UK parliament yesterday.

As Ukraine’s president began a European trip that will also take in Paris and Brussels, Downing Street said UK defence secretary Ben Wallace had been asked to examine “what jets we might be able to give” Ukraine, but it warned that this was a “medium- to long-term” solution.

An international debate is raging over how much further the west should go in arming Ukraine, and Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its role in cajoling other allies to provide more support.

During a hero’s welcome in the 11th-century Westminster Hall, he said: “I appeal to you and the world: combat aircraft for Ukraine. Wings for freedom.”

His pleas prompted UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to make his most positive remarks about potentially supplying jets to Ukraine.

“We’ve been very clear, and we’ve been clear for a long time, that when it comes to co-operation and military assistance to Ukraine, nothing is off the table,” he said.

Five more stories in the news

1. Disney to axe 7,000 jobs Disney chief executive Bob Iger announced plans to cut its workforce by 7,000, or about 3 per cent, as part of a broad restructuring. The reinstalled chief said the overhaul would save $5.5bn over the next few years. Investors had been waiting to hear Iger’s plan to reinvigorate the company since his surprise reappointment in November.

2. Adani faced margin call on $1.1bn loan Gautam Adani repaid a $1.1bn share-backed loan last week after facing a margin call of more than $500mn. Sources said lenders requested the Indian billionaire top up the amount of stock pledged against the loan, after fraud claims by short seller Hindenburg led to a sharp fall in shares of Adani companies.

3. Erdoğan’s quake response tested as election looms Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a rare admission of shortcomings while hitting at critics of his government’s response to earthquakes that have claimed more than 11,000 lives in Turkey and Syria. “Now’s the time for unity,” he said, in rhetoric that laid bare the challenge of maintaining public support ahead of elections in May.

4. Rothschilds court wealthy French families to take stakes The Rothschilds are in talks with some of France’s wealthiest families to help buy out minority shareholders in their Franco-British investment bank. The Peugeot and Dassault families are preparing to invest in the deal, according to sources, which will help privatise Rothschild & Co in a move that values it at €3.7bn.

5. Google shares fall after AI chatbot debut stumbles Shares of Google parent Alphabet closed almost 8 per cent lower yesterday, wiping billions of dollars off its market value, after experts pointed out that its chatbot Bard had made a factual error in the first video demo of its product.

Thanks to readers who took our quiz yesterday. Of the respondents, 53% said that the positive impact of artificial intelligence would outweigh the negative.

The day ahead

EU summit Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend a special summit in Brussels following his visit to the UK.

Economic data Germany, Brazil and Mexico release their January consumer price indices, RICS publishes its monthly survey of house prices in the UK, the US has unemployment claims and the EU releases its economic forecasts.

Corporate results AstraZeneca, Bombardier, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Crédit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Expedia, Kellogg, L’Oréal, PayPal, PepsiCo, Ralph Lauren, Siemens and Unilever report. See the full list in our newsletter, The Week Ahead.

Former FBI agent in US court Charles McGonigal, who has been charged with working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan.

Join us on February 23 at 1pm GMT for a subscriber-only webinar, Putin’s war on Ukraine: when and how will it end? with the FT’s Ben Hall, Chris Miller and guests. Register for your free ticket at ft.com/ukraine-event.

What else we’re reading

Barcelona’s deepening despondency Politics has fostered a deep sense of malaise in Barcelona, one of the most visited cities in Europe. Street crime is rising and many businesses have left, some in the wake of a contested referendum on Catalan independence which produced riots and the worst constitutional crisis in two decades. How did the Spanish city lose its way?

Russia’s propaganda machine reshapes the African narrative In the second part of a series on Russia in Africa, the Financial Times explores how pro-Russia African influencers — some paid but many speaking out of conviction — are tapping into genuine frustrations and sympathies to justify Moscow’s version of events. Analysts say “hybrid” warfare tools, including propaganda, deception and other non-military tactics, are being deployed to unsettle western interests on the continent.

Opinion: We need to bring honour back The idea that our behaviour should be guided not solely by respect for the law, nor even by a certain moral code, but by a sense of honour is an unfashionable one. But in our current society obsessed with virtue signalling, honouring honour is surely a better approach, writes Jemima Kelly.

How FTX built its network of stars Endorsements from celebrities and athletes such as American football player Tom Brady, basketball star Steph Curry and comedian Larry David played a big role in the rapid rise of FTX. But behind the star-studded facade, court documents reveal a web of personal and financial relationships.

How an MBA changed America’s top doctor Dr Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, had no plans to pursue an MBA. But he signed up when the Yale School of Medicine, where he was studying, offered a joint degree programme with its management school in 2001. “I felt like I was looking at the world with new glasses on and seeing opportunity much more clearly all around me,” he said.

Take a break from the news

In his latest style column, Robert Armstrong explains why you should say no to oversized clothes.