Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the King for his “unwavering support” for Ukraine when the pair met at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. The monarch welcomed the Ukrainian president in the Chinese Dining Room of the royal residence in central London ahead of the war leader's meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at No 10.
Mr Zelensky wrote on X afterwards: “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.”
Downing Street talks and honour guard
Mr Zelensky travelled to the UK for talks with Mr Burnham, who welcomed him to Downing Street in a show of support after US president Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Russia. The pair embraced when Mr Zelensky arrived at the famous black door on Downing Street, which included an unprecedented honour guard, made up of troops from the Irish Guards.
Mr Burnham told Ukraine’s leader that Britain’s support for his nation “will not change”. The Prime Minister said: “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.”
Dark and difficult days
He added that recent days had been “dark and difficult” for Ukraine, which has suffered “heavy bombardment in the last 24 hours”, and he extended the UK’s condolences to those who had lost loved ones. Mr Burnham said Mr Zelensky was “prepared to sit down and discuss” the energy ceasefire proposed by Mr Trump, but added: “Sadly, what we have seen from Russia is further attacks on critical national infrastructure in Ukraine.”
He said: “In these moments, Britain will continue to provide you with whatever support we can.” The Prime Minister is expected to use the visit to announce an acceleration of military support for Ukraine, and to pledge further rounds of sanctions aimed at Moscow.
Looking at all possible avenues
Mr Burnham said he had asked his ministers to examine other options for supporting Ukraine, telling Mr Zelensky they were “looking at all possible avenues”. Recent days have seen the US president suggesting Ukraine needs a new leader and claiming that 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.
