London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Ukraine war: Liz Truss joins Johnson in calling for transfer of fighter jets

Ukraine war: Liz Truss joins Johnson in calling for transfer of fighter jets

Liz Truss has joined growing calls for fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine, in her first speech in Parliament since resigning as prime minister.
Ms Truss said the UK needed to "do all we can, as fast as we can" to help Ukraine win the war against Russia.

The call was echoed by former PM Boris Johnson during a debate on Ukraine, putting pressure on PM Rishi Sunak.

Mr Sunak's government has agreed to train Ukrainian pilots but says supplying jets is a long-term option.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to European leaders to supply his country with modern fighter jets during visits to the UK, France and Belgium.

The UK is to start training Ukrainian forces to fly Nato-standard jets and Mr Sunak has said "nothing is off the table".

At the Munich Security Conference last week, the prime minister urged world leaders to give Ukraine the most advanced weapons to defend itself in the long term.

But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said there will be no immediate transfer of UK fighter jets to Ukraine.

He told the BBC it could take months to train pilots and the UK was instead focused on using alternative provision of air cover to the country.

Some Nato member countries are also worried that giving jets to Ukraine would be viewed as escalating the war, risking direct confrontation between the Western military alliance and Russia.

In her speech to MPs in the House of Commons, Ms Truss said "we need to do all we can to make sure Ukraine wins this war as soon as possible".

She urged the UK government to work with allies to provide Ukraine with an option to use fighter jets "otherwise they will not be able to prevail".

Now a backbench Conservative MP, Ms Truss was foreign secretary when President Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.

Ms Truss recalled what it was like being in government before and after the invasion was launched.

She described news of the invasion, delivered to her by a private secretary at 03:30 in the morning, as "devastating" but "not unexpected" given Western intelligence about Russia's plans.

It was Ms Truss's first contribution in the Commons as a backbench MP since 2012, when she became a minister.

Sat by her side during a general debate on Ukraine was Simon Clarke, one of the cabinet ministers in her short-lived government.

Ms Truss's speech followed that of Mr Johnson, who repeated his call for fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine.

Mr Johnson said that in the past 12 months since the war began, Western countries had eventually supplied the Ukrainians with the weapons they had requested.

"Let's cut to the chase and give them the planes too," Mr Johnson said.

Underlining the urgency of supplying aircraft to Ukraine, Mr Johnson said "it is becoming ever clearer that China is preparing to arm the Russians".

"We should give them what they need, not next month, not next year, but now," he added.

The British ambassador to Ukraine Dame Melinda Simmons told BBC Ukrainecast the West had to "hold our nerve" in supporting Ukraine, adding "it isn't a short war".

She also said any future peace deal would need a security guarantee for Ukraine to deter any further invasion.

The two Conservative prime ministers spoke in Parliament on the same day US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Mr Biden said the US would back Ukraine for "as long as it takes", as the prospect of a Russian spring offensive looms.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×