The Ukrainian president and King Charles were snapped smiling and shaking hands inside Buckingham Palace before Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the monarch for his support
Zelensky and King Charles shake hands at Buckingham Palace(Image: Aaron Chown/PA Pool via AP)
Volodymyr Zelensky personally thanked King Charles for his “unwavering support” for Ukraine as the president met the monarch as he visited London days after a vicious attack by Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian leader was given a warm welcome by King Charles at Buckingham Palace before meeting Prime Minister Andy Burnham for talks. The monarch greeted the president in the Chinese Dining Room of the royal residence on Wednesday afternoon. The King and Mr Zelensky were pictured smiling as they shook hands.
Charles and Mr Zelensky then moved to the King’s private audience room for discussions which lasted around 25 minutes. The Ukrainian leader later shared a message on social media thanking the King for the meeting and his support.
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Mr Zelensky, on X, wrote: “I thank His Majesty King Charles III for the audience. It is important for me to have the opportunity to personally thank him for his unwavering support for Ukraine. We appreciate all the assistance provided by the United Kingdom.”
The Ukrainian president also was given an unprecedented honour guard, made up of troops from the Irish Guards, and arrived to loud cheers outside No10 to meet the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister told him: “You have seen the solidarity and the support you have got from everybody here in Britain. We are behind you and that will not change.”
Mr Zelensky has been at the heart of a diplomatic crisis after the US President cut a deal with warmonger Vladimir Putin to buy diesel. Following his criticism at the weekend, Trump claimed it was “time for Ukraine to get a new President”.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Zelensky said he was “thankful” for the support, saying the British people had proved “one of the strongest partners in our history”.
Following the meeting on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokeswoman said the leaders discussed “Russia’s blatant indiscriminate attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure since President Trump called for an energy ceasefire”.
The spokeswoman said: “It was clear that Russia had no interest in peace, the leaders underlined. Turning to how Ukraine’s allies could step up support, particularly in response to Russia’s barrage of jet-powered drones, the Prime Minister set out the UK’s latest package of Lightweight Multirole Missiles.
“The UK would continue to develop innovative military solutions for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, including retrofitting British capability onto equipment gifted from other partners, the Prime Minister added.
“On long range missiles, the leaders discussed how the UK could accelerate defensive support to Ukraine ahead of the winter. The UK would also continue its diplomatic efforts to support international supplies of defensive equipment too.”
The meeting comes during a period of strained relations between Ukraine and the United States after Donald Trump eased sanctions on Russian diesel last week as high fuel prices in the US threatened to overshadow November’s mid-term elections. The UK responded to news of the deal by pledging to “maintain pressure on Russia“.
Recent days have also seen the US president suggesting Ukraine needs a new leader and claiming Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal more than the government in Kyiv. Concerns have also been raised about intelligence sharing from the US, with Mr Zelensky saying Kyiv had received no warning about Russian missile strikes on Monday and Tuesday.
Speaking in the Commons ahead of his meeting with Mr Zelensky, the Prime Minister said he would seek to restore Donald Trump’s support for Ukraine. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Burnham said he was being “careful” in his language after Mr Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, as he said he was “laying the ground” for a reconciliation. He added: “I will listen to President Zelensky carefully, but he won’t be going away from Britain today empty-handed.”
