Rishi Sunak warned it will take time to train Ukraine pilots for Nato fighter jets tonight after Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional plea for planes during his first visit to the UK since the invasion.

At a joint press conference following a tour of a training base for troops in Dorset, the PM said the West must ‘arm Ukraine in the short term’ and ‘bolster’ it in the long-term.

Pushed on whether the UK would provide jets, he said ‘nothing is off the table’ and stressed that Britain was now going to start preparing the Ukrainian air force.  

But he cautioned that ‘first step’ will take ‘some time’. For his part Mr Zelensky said the discussions had been ‘fruitful’ and stopped short of criticising the PM. 

The exchange came after Boris Johnson urged the UK to offer all its fighter jets and tanks to Ukraine, saying countering Russian aggression was the ‘best use’ for the UK’s 100 Typhoon jets and similar stocks of Challenger tanks. 

The Ukrainian President was given a rapturous reception at the Palace of Westminster on his first visit to Britain since the invasion. 

Watched by Rishi Sunak, and with Mr Johnson in the audience, Mr Zelensky insisted that more help will be needed to defeat the Russian aggressors. He presented Speaker Lindsay Hoyle with a helmet signed by one of Kyiv’s top pilots and appealed for the UK to supply ‘powerful’ aircraft – after Mr Sunak announced that Britain will train forces in how to fly them. 

The message on the helmet read: ‘We have freedom, give us wings to protect it.’ 

Amid splits within Nato on how far to go in suppling air power, Mr Zelensky added: ‘Combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom.’

Mr Zelensky said he had come on behalf of the ‘brave’ who were ‘in the trenches under enemy artillery fire’. ‘We know Russia will lose. We really know that victory will change the world.’ 

Mr Zelensky singled out Mr Johnson for praise for helping unite the international community behind Ukraine when it seemed ‘impossible’. 

‘The people of the United Kingdom and their honourable representatives, all the people of England and Scotland, of Wales and Northern Ireland, of all the lands which have been home to brave souls since Europe came into existence,’ Mr Zelensky said.

‘I have come here and stand before you on behalf of the brave, on behalf of our war heroes who are now in the trenches under enemy artillery fire, on behalf of our air gunners, and every defender of the sky who protects Ukraine against enemy aircraft and missiles, on behalf of our tank men who fight to restore our Ukrainian borders, on behalf of our conscripts who are being trained now including here in Britain.

‘Thank you, Britain.’

Mr Zelensky said: ‘London has stood with Kyiv since day one, from the first seconds and minutes of the full-scale war, Great Britain you extended your helping hand when the world had not yet come to understand how to react.

‘Boris: you got others united when it seemed absolutely impossible. Thank you.’

In a statement after the speech, Mr Johnson said: ‘It is time to give the Ukrainians the extra equipment they need to defeat Putin and to restore peace to Ukraine. That means longer range missiles and artillery. It means more tanks. It means planes. We have more than 100 Typhoon jets. We have more than 100 Challenger 2 tanks. 

‘The best single use for any of these items is to deploy them now for the protection of the Ukrainians – not least because that is how we guarantee our own long-term security.

‘Today’s investment in helping Ukraine will avert instability and chaos for years to come. By helping Ukraine to push back Putin, we can make our world safer – and above all, save an innocent country from destruction.’

Mr Johnson acknowledged that ‘the Typhoon is a four-nation plane and we require the approval of allies for export’.

But he said : ‘There is no reason to think that Germany or others should oppose our decision – these are UK planes. 

‘Every time we have stepped up with more military support the Ukrainians have responded and turned the tide of war. Now is the time to give them exactly what they need to finish the job,’ Mr Johnson added.

Speaking to LBC later, Mr Johnson said: ‘The point I would make is the faster we do it, the better. The faster we do it, the bigger the saving in life. 

‘The bigger the saving in our defence expenditure. Because ultimately once Putin is beaten in Ukraine, the world is going to be a much, much safer place. So helping the Ukrainians now is a massive down-payment on future security.’ 

Mr Sunak has ordered Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to look at whether jets can be provided, and the UK is starting to train pilots.

While the UK operates F-35 and Typhoon jets, the older F-16s widely operated by other Nato countries have been seen as more likely to be supplied to Ukraine. 

Downing Street said the first Ukrainian pilots should arrive in the spring, but warned the training can take five years.

The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘I think we are keen to do whatever is possible to get these pilots trained up as fast as possible. But these are complex pieces of military equipment. And as you know the current training period for UK pilots is around five years.

‘We think this is right to provide both short-term equipment like Challenger tanks, additional guns, longer-range capabilities that can help win the war now, but also look to the medium-to-long term to ensure Ukraine has every possible capability it requires.

‘The Prime Minister has tasked the Defence Secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give but, to be clear, this is a long-term solution rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most now.’

Mr Zelensky shared a warm embrace with Mr Sunak earlier as he landed at Stansted Airport in Essex for his surprise visit. They then returned to London for talks.

Mr Zelensky warned in his speech that ‘evil’ was still present in his country and it needed to fight on.

He said: ‘Evil is still around around today and the battle continues. Yes, we know how it’s going to end and how we are going to feel on the day victory comes. Every day we continue to pay with lives.

‘Pain and tears for bringing victory closer, with the lives of our people, our heroes, whom we lose in battles, with the lives of our heroes who take life and death risks every day to save as many of our soldiers and civilians as possible.’

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine’s call for a ‘special compensation mechanism, which will compensate war losses at the expense of Russian assets’ is based on the principle that ‘anyone who invests in violence must compensate those who have suffered from terror’.

He thanked Mr Sunak and the UK for providing battle tanks: ‘Thank you very much for this powerful defensive step.’

But he continued: ‘It’s not just I’m not speaking just about weapons. We prove together, that the world truly helps those who are brave in defending freedom and thus paves the way for a new history’, he said.

‘A history of the world that knows how to be quick in help, who knows how to be effective in the defence. Who knows how to remain principled in dark hours. Who implements its treaties and arrangements in good faith. Who does not allow perpetrators to enjoy immunity. 

‘Who knows how to overcome veto when it’s abused. Who knows no fear and who knows how to win. This shall be the new reality of the free world I’m sure.’

Mr Zelensky said he was looking forward to his audience with King Charles later, referencing the monarch’s own military service. ‘In Britain, the king is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.’ 

He ended the speech by thanking Britain ‘in advance’ for fighter jets.

The Ukrainian president said: ‘Thank you for your attention, thank you for your support,’ he said.

‘And I will be leaving the Parliament today thanking all of you in advance for powerful English planes.’

The remark prompted laughter among the MPs and peers gathered in Westminster Hall.

Mr Zelensky ended his speech by saying: ‘God Bless Great Britain and long, long live the King. Slava Ukraini.’

Before the Westminster Hall speech MPs put on a show of unity at PMQs, promising to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. He has spoken to Parliament before, but only via video link. 

Speaking in No10, Mr Zelensky thanked the British people ‘for your big support from the first days of full-scale invasion’.

‘Thank you so much Rishi for inviting me and for me great honour to be here in Britain,’ he added.

The Ukrainian President was greeted with applause as he walked into No10 over a red carpet laid out in Downing Street.

He will also use his surprise visit to meet with some of his Ukrainian troops being trained in Britain.

Mr Sunak today pledged extra military support for Ukraine, including – crucially – the training of Ukrainian fighter jet pilots.

Britain also announced a new round of sanctions on the Russian military and Kremlin elites, in a bid to further tighten the economic squeeze on Vladimir Putin’s regime.

After speaking with Mr Zelensky in Downing Street, Mr Sunak took PMQs in the Commons where he told MPs he was ‘delighted’ the Ukrainian President had been able to visit.

‘It is a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries,’ he said.