Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskiy and Sunak hold press conference after Ukrainian president’s plea for jets

President Zelenskiy’s dramatic appeal for fighter jets on his surprise visit to the UK is surprising because until now Ukraine’s air force has been seeking US-made F-16s jets or perhaps Sweden’s Gripen as the kind of combat aircraft that could help it win the near year long war.

The RAF uses neither and has 146 Typhoons out of an estimated 580 worldwide, but the fighter is available in far smaller numbers than the F-16, and the involvement of Germany as a manufacturer may make export to Ukraine complex given Berlin’s hesitancy over tanks.

The other fighter Britain uses, the F-35, is made by Lockheed Martin of the US and so any re-export decision would rest with Washington. It is so new (and so expensive) it would simply be not as cost effective as the F-16 either.

But Zelenskiy’s appeal may be broader – an effort to persuade the UK to act as a lobbyist to help Ukraine secure F-16s from the US, with Britain helping with, as announced, initial pilot training in simulators to get the process going.

Handing speaker Lindsay Hoyle an engraved pilot’s helmet is the kind of attention grabbing stunt the Ukrainian president, a former actor, loves to pull off.

The west’s decision to give Ukraine western tanks last month was a step change in support – helped forward by Britain coming out quickly and offering to supply its own Challenger 2 tanks to help encourage Germany to follow suit.

Meanwhile, the military reality is that western jets would dramatically increase Kyiv’s chances of kicking out the Russian invaders.

At present, Ukraine’s small surviving air force, running perhaps a dozen combat missions a day, has to operate conservatively, partly because of the threat of Russian air defence systems but also because of the longer range of the enemy’s air to air missiles.

It had targeted the F-16 principally because of its wide availability – there are over 3,000 in 25 countries – and has mentioned the Gripen because it is capable, easy to maintain and is designed to operate against Russian planes.

Although the strength of Russia’s air defence mean that bombing enemy positions would not be straightforward, it would boost Ukraine’s strike options, already greatly assisted by the supply of western artillery and rocket artillery.

Kyiv knows to win the war it has to do it in a more technologically sophisticated way than Moscow and not rely on ageing Soviet era equipment. As the country’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko said recently: “The little red army cannot beat the bigger red army.”