Last week, The King held an Audience with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at Buckingham Palace.
Mr Zelenskyy was visiting the UK last Wednesday in his first visit to the country since the Russian invasion began last year.
The King meets the President of Ukraine. (Royal Family)
Greeting the President, The King said: ‘We’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can’t tell you’.
Mr Zelensky, wearing the khaki fatigues that have long been his uniform, replied to say what a ‘big support’ both Houses of Parliament had been upon his visit, to which The Monarch told him: ‘I’m so glad’.
He also thanked The King for ‘finding the time’ for a meeting, expressing it was a ‘great honour’ to be at Buckingham Palace.
The pair then chatted in private for half an hour in the 1844 Room about the conflict in Ukraine and the supporting part the UK has played.
Zelenskyy had met with the British Prime Minister earlier in the day, as well as addressing both Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The President said in Westminster Hall, where the late Queen lay in state: ‘We will always come out on top of evil.
‘We know freedom will win. We know Russia will lose.’
He thanked ‘all the people of England and Scotland, of Wales and Northern Ireland’ for their support, on behalf of ‘our fighters who are now in the trenches under enemy artillery fire’.
Zelenskyy also had the chance to see Ukrainian troops being trained by the British armed forces. Prime Minister Sunak announced the UK will now train pilots on the operation of NATO-standard fighter jets as well as marines, in addition to doubling the number of troops British forces will train, up to 20,000.
In a social media post, President Zelenskyy said he ‘congratulated him on his recent accession to the throne and wished peace and prosperity to the British people’.
‘It is an honour for me to be the first President of Ukraine in the history of Ukrainian-British relations to be honoured by the British Monarch with an audience. I am grateful to His Majesty for the warm welcome and for supporting Ukrainian citizens who have taken refuge from the war in the United Kingdom.
The Royal Family have played their part in supporting Ukrainian refugees and the country since February 2022.
After the Russian invasion began, the then-Prince of Wales condemned the ‘brutal aggression’ by Russia. He has also visited a number of Ukrainian refugee centres, including the Ukrainian Cathedral in London and meeting those helping refugees.
The then-Prince of Wales was also the first senior Royal to visit Romania, since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where he said it was a ‘nightmare situation’. He said to them ‘keep praying’ and told them he was ‘full of admiration for the Ukrainian people – their extraordinary courage and resilience’.
The Queen carried out her first in-person engagement since catching COVID. (Royal Family)
The late Queen was also photographed in front of flowers that represented the colours of the Ukraine flag, during an Audience with the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Many regarded this as tacit support for the invaded nation.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when the invasion began, have also been instrumental in supporting Ukrainian refugees. In March 2022, William and Catherine visited the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London, to learn about the incredible efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the UK and across Europe. The couple even took some homemade treats to thank the volunteers.
The Princess also visited a Ukrainian Community Centre
, in her hometown of Reading. Catherine took the opportunity to praise the ‘bravery and resilience’ of those who have been forced to leave Ukraine with their children, following the Russian invasion.
