Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy meets with King Charles III

The President of Ukraine had met with King Charles III of the United Kingdom, the Presidential Office reported on its website.

"Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated King Charles III on his recent accession to the throne and wished peace and prosperity to the British people. The President of Ukraine also expressed gratitude to the Brits and His Majesty's Government and emphasized that the United Kingdom is one of Ukraine's closest and most important allies," the press service said.

During Zelenskyy’s first visit to the UK since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s president has been greeted at the airport by Rishi Sunak himself, as evidenced by a photo on Sunak’s Twitter account.

“Welcome to the UK, President Zekenskyy! Slava Ukraini!” the prime minister wrote.

During the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Rishi Sunak discussed defense cooperation, the implementation of the peace formula, Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration, future support from the UK, the possibility of involving Britain in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and other projects. 

The two leaders also discussed the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Earlier, Sky News reported that President Zelenskyy would meet with the British prime minister and the Ukrainian military on February 8. The outlet reminded that this is the first visit of the Ukrainian president to the UK since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"President Zelenskyy's visit to the UK is a testament to his country's courage, determination and fight, and a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our two countries," Sky News quoted British PM, Rishi Sunak, as saying.

He noted that London will help Ukraine improve the army so that it can protect the country's interests in the future.

"It also underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come," Sunak said.

President Zelenskyy has met King Charles at Buckingham Palace, as part of his visit to the UK, BBC reports. It was the first time the monarch had met Zelenskyy.

• The Financial Times reported earlier that the EU is preparing to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a summit in Brussels on February 9. Prior to that, Zelenskyy left Ukraine only once - to the United States. However, his visit was kept in strict confidence.