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Britain’s supplies of fighter jets to Kiev to entail global effects — Russian embassy

The Russian embassy highlighted how hypocritical was Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s address to the British parliament

LONDON, February 8. /TASS/. Possible deliveries of British fighter jets to Ukraine would lead to military-political consequences for the whole world, the Russian embassy in Britain said in a statement on Wednesday.

"London should remember that under such a scenario (deliveries of fighter aircraft - TASS) the ‘bloody harvest’ the next round of escalation will reap, as well as the military-political consequences ensuing from this for the European continent and the whole world will rest squarely upon its conscience. Russia will find proper means to respond to any unfriendly steps taken by the British side," the embassy said.

The Russian diplomatic mission pointed out that the ‘fundraising campaign’ carried out by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in London would have been incomplete without "him begging for another batch of weapons which Kiev stopped attributing as ‘defensive’ long ago."

"Taking into account the fate of NATO artillery systems regularly used by the Kiev military to pound peaceful cities and towns in Donbass, there is little doubt that Western warplanes, if ever shipped, will also be used shortly for air raids on residential neighborhoods in cities of the DPR, LPR, the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions that have come under Russian protection," the statement said.

Additionally, the Russian embassy highlighted how hypocritical was Zelensky’s address to the British parliament on Wednesday.

"Zelensky’s pompous appeals about the values of ‘freedom’ and ‘human rights,’ which Kiev appears to be fighting for, sounded hypocritical. In fact, there is hardly anyone at Westminster who would not know that those lofty notions are incompatible with the repressive habits of the deeply corrupt Ukrainian elite. For the sake of retaining power in Kiev, they have never hesitated to ban opposition political parties, censor [and] eliminate independent media outlets, persecute and punish dissenters, and suppress the rights and civil liberties of Russian-speaking people and ethnic minorities in Ukraine," the statement said.

Sending fighter jets to Ukraine

On Wednesday morning, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said ahead of his meeting with Zelensky in London that the UK would expand training for Ukrainian servicemen, "from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots." According to the Prime Minister’s office, Ukrainian pilots will develop skills that will allow them to be able to "fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future." Later, Sunak’s spokesperson clarified that the British government would investigate what jets the UK might be able to provide, adding "this is a long-term solution, rather than a short-term capability which is what Ukraine needs most now.".