Britain's King Charles gave Volodymyr Zelenskiy a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle as the Ukrainian president visits the UK.
After arriving at the castle’s quadrangle on Friday morning, Mr Zelenskiy shook hands with Charles and was given a royal salute – the first ceremonial welcome the leader has received in the UK.
The Ukrainian national anthem was played and Mr Zelenskiy was invited to inspect the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards.
Dressed in black, Mr Zelenskiy said “Thank-you so much” to Major Ben Tracey, who led the inspection as captain of the guard of honour.
Mr Zelenskiy was then taken inside the castle for an audience with Charles, as members of the public watched on from the gates of the quadrangle.
The visit came ahead of a meeting later on Friday with UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and other leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing for talks on how to increase pressure on Moscow and boost Ukraine’s defences.
Measures under consideration will include further efforts to cripple the economy supporting Russia president Vladimir Putin’s war effort by taking Russian oil and gas off the global market, and seeking ways to use frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defences.
Mr Zelenskiy, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch premier Dick Schoof and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte will be in London, while around 20 other leaders will dial in to a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – the initiative led by Mr Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Friday was the fifth meeting between Charles and Mr Zelenskiy, with the pair having also met in June at Windsor Castle and in March at Sandringham.
The pair shared an audience in July last year at Blenheim Palace following a reception for European leaders attending the European Political Community Summit.
Their first meeting was at Buckingham Place in February 2023 – almost a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
