The red carpet has been rolled out at 10 Downing Street for the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian President touched down on British soil this morning in his first visit to the United Kingdom since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rishi Sunak met Zelensky from the plane, with No. 10 quick to share a photo on social media of the pair embracing.

It’s clear one area where Zelensky believes the West could go further still is on fighter jets

In a post on Instagram, Zelensky set out the reason for his surprise visit: ‘The United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine’s aid. And today I’m in London to personally thank the British people for their support and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership’. As part of the visit, Zelensky will address parliament in person, meet with the King and visit Ukrainian troops being trained by British forces. There is no word yet on whether Boris Johnson – who has focussed most of his post No. 10 interventions on Ukraine – will also try to feature.

So, what is the purpose of Zelensky’s trip? While the official reason is to thank the British public for their leadership, it comes at a time when Kyiv is calling on the West to provide further weapons and military support.

It’s clear one area where Zelensky believes they could go further still is on fighter jets. While Zelensky has called for the West to supply these, so far Downing Street has suggested this is a no-go – insisting that it is ‘not practical’ to provide RAF Typhoons or F-35s. Last week, Boris Johnson piled pressure on Sunak over this position, using a visit to Washington DC to call on Western leaders to ‘give the Ukrainians what they need’ to help their cause.

Now there are signs of movement. Ahead of Zelensky’s visit, Downing Street announced that Britain will begin to train Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and marines. Although this falls short of sending fighter jets, it is viewed by some on the Ukrainian side as a significant step towards the end goal of securing the equipment they require. After Zelensky’s visit, expect these calls to grow louder.