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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Will Maule & Jacob Farr

Vladimir Putin issues chilling warning for UK if they arm Ukraine with fighter jets

Russian leader Valdimir Putin has dished out a terrifying warning to the UK government over any potential plans to arm the Ukrainian war effort with fighter jets.

Volodomyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, is currently touring European political hubs to request state of the art fighter jets to defeat the illegal Russian invaders.

He was at the UK parliament in Westminster on Wednesday February 8 to deliver a speech where he requested more airpower.

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But those at the Russian Embassy in London fired back quickly by releasing a statement that warned the UK government that any move to provide warplanes would be "on London's conscience" due to the "bloodshed, next round of escalation, and subsequent military and political ramifications for the European continent and the entire globe".

The British government has not yet said whether or not they will supply the requested fighter jets but the Prime Minister said on Wednesday that all options were being considered and that "nothing was off the table.”

When holding a joint press conference with Zelensky, the PM said that sending further airpower was “part of the conversation” between the pair, the Mirror reports.

A powerful spectacle took place in the House of Commons on Wednesday when the Ukrainian president presented the speaker of the house with a helmet belonging to a member of the Ukrainian air force.

The helmet was inscribed by the pilot with the words: "We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it."

He told peers and MPs in Westminster Hall: “I appeal to you and the world with simple and yet most important words: combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom.”

Zelensky and Sunak met on Wednesday 8. (PA.)

Downing Street stated that PM Sunak had spoken with the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to see if it was possible for the UK to give Ukraine jets to fight the Russians.

Mr Zelensky said that without jets, there was a risk of “stagnation” in the conflict with Russia.

Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the outbreak of the conflict and a close ally of Mr Zelensky, urged the UK to give Ukraine the “tools to finish the job” of defeating the Kremlin’s troops.

“The faster we do it, the bigger the saving in life,” he told LBC.

Mr Zelensky's surprise visit to the UK included a meeting with King Charles III.

Alluding to the King's former RAF experience, the Ukrainian president told those gathered in Westminster Hall:

“The King is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”

He added: “We know freedom will win. We know Russia will lose.”

After visiting a training site for Ukrainian troops in Dorset, Mr Sunak and Mr Zelensky later signed a declaration of unity, stating how London and Kyiv were “confident, that together with our allies and partners, we will defeat Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion”.

The visit was only Mr Zelensky's second foreign trip outside of Ukraine since the invasion began just under a year ago.

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