Ukraine’s ambassador to UK Prystaiko says NATO may reach consensus on fighter jets for Ukraine

Ambassador Prystaiko shared the information in an interview with Donbas.Realii. 

According to him, statements by top British officials that Ukraine will receive fighter jets only after the war with Russia ends may be an attempt by London to help form a consensus in NATO on the delivery of modern aircraft to Kyiv.  

"I think that when Britain says that we can only get them in peacetime, it is, to a certain extent, an attempt to be open in communication and not to scare the allies too much. That is, to try, as Britain often does in NATO, to promote consensus building," Prystaiko said. 

He explained that Ukraine needs trained pilots and technicians to operate such sophisticated equipment as fighter jets, which requires the cooperation of many NATO allies. 

Prystaiko reminded that the process of delivering modern tanks to Ukraine also got off the ground thanks to the UK's position.   

 "It was the same with the tanks, by the way – it was a breakthrough moment when it was necessary to overcome the reluctance of all other allies. And, if you remember, despite the fact that the announcement was made, it took almost a week for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to officially confirm it," Prystaiko said. 

He believes that a similar process to the one with the tanks supply is now taking place with fighter jets.

"At that time, Britain was trying to convince all other allies that there were 2 options: either Britain makes this announcement alone and paves the way for everyone else, or we all take this very important step together as one front, as NATO. This time, Britain was successful. I think the same process is happening now with fighter jets," Prystaiko summarized. 

• On February 18, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Ukraine should expect to receive modern fighter jets after the war with Russia ends. 

• On February 20, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the decision to provide Ukraine with fighter jets could be made by the allies in the next 1 to 2 months.