Zelenskyy given ‘positive signals’ by European allies on securing fighter jets

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received “positive signals” from western allies about supplying military jets to Ukraine, even as some leaders expressed reservations about a step that could increase the risk of escalation with Russia.

Zelenskyy, after taking part in an EU summit in Brussels, claimed he had “heard it from a number of European leaders . . . about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including aircraft”. He said he would make direct requests for the jets in one-on-one meetings later on Thursday.

Since receiving pledges of battle tanks last month, Ukraine has made modern fighter jets its key military request from western allies, to better defend against Russia’s invasion. But many capitals are wary of such a step, given threats from Moscow it would see such a move as escalatory.

“Of course there are positive signals concerning the respective weapons, positive signals that we hear,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “I really want these signals to turn to concrete sounds, concrete voices, unafraid that Russia will hear this voice.”

In a sign that an agreement was still pending, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrei Yermak amended a social media post in which he initially claimed that the issue of fighter jets “had been resolved” to state it “may be resolved”.

Speaking on his way into the summit with Zelenskyy, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said Ukraine’s allies needed to ensure they were not getting themselves into a direct confrontation with Russia.

“You have to make absolutely sure you are not getting into an Article 5 direct confrontation between Nato and Russia,” he said, in a reference to the collective defence provision of the Nato treaty. Rutte said the pros and cons of such decisions should only be discussed behind closed doors, given the sensitivity of the topic.

The Ukrainian president met EU counterparts in his first in-person summit in Brussels since the outbreak of the war nearly a year ago.

“I simply have not got the right to come back home without results,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he wasn’t being “impertinent . . . just pragmatic.”

“We need these weapons to survive,” he added.

During a visit to London on Wednesday, Zelenskyy called for “wings for freedom” and the UK government said afterwards it was looking at what jets it might be able to give Ukraine, but only as a “medium-to-long-term” solution.

Downing Street on Thursday declined to give any details about the timeline or the type of aircraft considered. But any decision to supply UK aircraft to Ukraine would require permission from the partners that developed the aircraft, a government spokesman added. For the Eurofighter Typhoon, permission would be needed from Italy, Germany and Spain, while re-exporting the UK’s other jet, the US-made F-35, would need to be approved by Washington.

French president Emmanuel Macron declined to comment about any discussions on fighter jets, saying he would not “share the Ukrainian plan” publicly. In an apparent reference to the London pledge, he said it was critical to focus on deliveries of equipment that would help Ukraine in the short term.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed that his country could only act “as part of a Nato formation”, adding Warsaw “will not be the first to transfer fighters”.

The Kremlin said discussions over supplying Ukraine with fighter jets showed western countries were drawing closer to fighting a direct war against Russia.

“We see this as the UK, France and Germany’s growing involvement in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The line between indirect and direct involvement is gradually disappearing,” Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, told reporters.

Zelenskyy told leaders they were all protecting Europe from a regime that wanted to be “the authoritarian leader on this continent”, calling for tighter sanctions including on the Russian nuclear industry.

He also called for sanctions against Russia’s drone, missile and IT industries. “The drones will remain a threat until we destroy the source of this threat,” he said.

Standing alongside European Council president Charles Michel and Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, he stepped up his public calls for Ukraine to be admitted to the EU.

Zelenskyy told Michel that he wanted to open accession negotiations with the bloc this year. “This year, Charles, when I say this year I mean this year. Two-zero-twenty-three,” he said to laughter during a press conference.

Additional reporting by Max Seddon in Riga, Leila Abboud in Paris and Robert Wright in London