Former U.K. prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss urged Rishi Sunak to send fighter jets to Ukraine during a debate in the House of Commons.
Truss said she “could not wait to see fighter jets over Ukraine” while Johnson, her immediate predecessor who resigned in July, urged the government to “cut to the chase” and “give them the planes,” the Guardian reports.
President Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional appeal for jets in an address to the Houses of Parliament during a visit to London earlier this month.
While in London, Zelensky presented the helmet of a Ukrainian pilot to the parliament's speaker as a metaphor for Ukraine’s pleas for Western fighter jets. “We have freedom, give us wings to protect it,” the helmet inscription reads.
“The world needs Ukrainian bravery,” Zelensky said. "We proved together that the world truly helps those who are brave in defending freedom.”
Both Truss and Johnson add to the pressure on Sunak to send British fighter jets to Ukraine. “We need to do all we can to make sure Ukraine wins this war as soon as possible,” Truss said during a debate on Feb. 20.
“Every extra day, a life lost, women violated, towns destroyed. We need to do all we can, as fast as we can."
