Zelenskyy meets with UK Prime Minister and King Charles III, Russians attack Chernihiv Oblast: today's highlights

British Prime Minister instructs the Ministry of Defense to study which aircraft can be transferred to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has instructed the Ministry of Defense to study which British aircraft can be transferred to the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This was reported by Bloomberg and the Independent.

Sunak asked British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to assess which aircraft could be sent to Ukraine. However, the country does not plan to send Typhoon jets in the near future, but rather sees the possibility of sending planes as a long-term solution, the prime minister's spokesman told reporters.

Downing Street emphasized that it currently takes 5 years to train a pilot in the UK. The training of the first Ukrainian pilots is planned to begin in the spring.

The Prime Minister's Office also reported that the UK is discussing the provision of fighter jets with other Western allies.

Zelenskyy and Scholz are to arrive in France for a meeting

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in France for a working visit. This was reported by French BFMTV and the German newspaper Bild.

According to media reports, Scholz is due to arrive in France on the evening of February 8, where he will meet with Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron.

The media specified that the leaders will meet at the Elysee Palace.

Occupiers attacked Chernihiv Oblast with aircraft

Russian occupation forces shelled a border town in Chernihiv Oblast from the air. This was reported by the head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration Viacheslav Chaus.

An air raid was recorded in the Semenivka community. According to Chaus, the occupiers used two air-to-ground missiles. Two civilians were wounded. One person was killed.

Zelenskyy's visit to the UK

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to the UK became publicly known on the day of the visit, February 8. Zelenskyy wrote on social media that he had come to London to personally thank the British people for their support and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership.

This is Zelenskyy's first visit to the UK since the start of the full-scale war. In particular, the President of Ukraine addressed the UK Parliament after meeting with Rishi Sunak. During his speech, he called for the provision of combat aircraft to the Defense Forces.

During his visit to the UK, President Zelenskyy also met with King Charles III for the first time. He congratulated the monarch on his recent accession to the throne and wished peace and prosperity to the British people. The Head of State announced this on Telegram.

Lubinets resigns from the European Ombudsman Institute

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, has announced that he is resigning from the European Ombudsman Institute because of the illegal transfer of two Ukrainian children from Austria to Russia. He announced this on his Telegram channel.

Lubinets explained that this step was the result of the fact that two Ukrainian children who were in Austria because of Russian armed aggression were taken to Russia.

According to the ombudsman, the children were taken by a human rights activist of the European Ombudsman Institute (EIO). According to media reports, this is the Secretary General of the EIO, a member of the EIO Board, and Deputy Ombudsman of Tyrol, Dr. Josef Siegele. The Austrian authorities have launched an official investigation into these actions.

Russians may launch a new offensive in Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia Oblasts

The Ukrainian government expects Russian occupation forces to try to advance to the northeast of Kharkiv Oblast or to the south of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, said in an interview with Reuters.

He said that Russian troops are currently testing Ukraine's defenses in partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia and in part of the land bridge between eastern Ukraine and Crimea on the southern Black Sea coast.