UK May Send Fighter Jets to Ukraine 'When Russia Withdraws Troops', Reports Claim

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom may supply Ukraine with fighter jets for air policing missions after Russia pulls out its troops from the country, UK media reported, citing an unnamed senior UK military official.

Although sending combat aircraft to Ukraine is "not the priority" for London at the moment, the possibility of such supplies cannot be ruled out, the source told the newspaper.

The UK may consider such a scenario when the Russian forces withdraw from Ukraine and "there is a need for the Ukrainians to conduct an air policing mission to protect their airspace," the source said.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the German armed forces would give Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks from their own warehouses but rejected Kiev's call for jets, saying he did not want the Ukrainian conflict to turn into an armed standoff between Russia and NATO.

Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there in late February 2022, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.