Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s whirlwind tour of European capitals last week to press allies for modern, long-range weapons was only partly successful.

Ukraine’s president extracted a pledge from the UK to start training Ukrainian fighter pilots. Britain also made a vague offer of “long-range capabilities”. France, Germany and other allies in the EU were less forthcoming, rebuffing Zelenskyy’s pleas for fighter aircraft while ruling nothing out. Ukraine had more pressing military needs, President Emmanuel Macron said.

Undeterred, Ukraine on Friday made a formal request to the Netherlands for the transfer of F-16 fighter jets. Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov is set to meet Nato defence ministers in Brussels on Tuesday with the aim to secure “an aviation platform” to protect Ukrainian skies, as well as more tanks and ammunition, he wrote on social media.