Boris Johnson criticises Rishi Sunak decision not to give Ukraine fighter jets

Boris Johnson has condemned Rishi Sunak’s decision not to send fighter jets to Ukraine, as he urged western leaders to “give them what they need”.

The former Tory prime minister suggested that it would “save time” if the UK and its allies gave Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces the fighter jet aircraft they had asked for now.

“This is not the moment to delay any support to Ukraine, this is the moment to double down on our support. Give them what they need,” Mr Johnson told Fox News.

Asked about the UK and US decision to rule out sending fighter jets, Mr Johnson said: “Every time we’ve said it would be a mistake to give such and such an item of weaponry, we end up doing it and it ends up being the right thing for Ukraine.”

He added: “I remember it being told it would be the wrong idea to give them the anti-tank missiles. Actually, they were indispensable. Same with tanks.”

Urging Britain and its allies to “go further”, he said the supply of more arms would “save time, save money, save lives”, adding: “Give the Ukrainians what they need as fast as possible. Get this done.”

Mr Sunak believes it is “not practical” to send British fighter jets to Ukraine, No 10 said, despite the PM being keen to boost support to Kyiv to avoid a lengthy stalemate.

Downing Street said training president Zelensky’s forces on “extremely sophisticated” Typhoons and F-35s would take too long.

However, No 10 did not oppose allies sending their own fighter jets after French president Emmanuel Macron refused to rule it out.

US president Joe Biden said he is also not transferring warplanes to Kyiv despite the requests, but Mr Macron said “nothing is excluded in principle”.

The prime minister told his cabinet on Tuesday that a “prolonged stalemate” in the war in Ukraine “would only benefit Russia” and its president Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson fired back at the Kremlin and Nigel Farage after they suggested he was lying with his claim that Putin had threatened him with a missile strike before the Ukraine invasion.

Asked about Mr Farage’s criticism – after the Brexiteer said Mr Johnson’s relationship with the truth is “somewhat loose” – the former PM scoffed: “I don’t know if Nigel’s speaking for the Kremlin.

He added: “Kremlin are fabled for their complete refusal to tell the truth about anything that’s happening in Ukraine. I think what Putin was trying to do was creep me out.

“What he was trying to do was reduce it to a story about a nuclear standoff between Russia and Nato. We’ve got to avoid being sucked down that rabbit hole. This is not what it’s about. It’s about the invasion of a completely innocent country.”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to mediate in Russia’s war on Ukraine if he is asked to take up the diplomatic role by both the nations and the US.

“If asked by all relevant parties, I’ll certainly consider it, but I’m not pushing myself in,” Mr Netanyahu told CNN in an interview, adding that it would have to be the “right time and the right circumstances.”