Volodymyr Zelensky has urged European leaders to channel Winston Churchill’s “bravery” in the fight against Russian aggression.
The Ukrainian leader made his call as he spoke in the former prime minister’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, during only his third visit to the UK since Russia’s full-scale invasion. It is his first trip to the UK since Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street. Mr Zelensky is also due to meet with King Charles during the visit.
The Ukrainian leader told a summit of European leaders: “Bravery made Churchill Churchill. Bravery won the greatest battle of his life. It was the battle for Britain.
“Now our bravery and cooperation must achieve no less so that the children of our nations can someday look back at us, at what we have done, at what we have chosen, what we have promised, and see the pillars of their peace, their security and their prosperity just as we see it when we look back at the most famous person from Blenheim.”
Sir Keir greeted Mr Zelensky in the grand entrance of Blenheim Palace near Oxford, where the prime minister is hosting the European Political Community (EPC). The pair exchanged pleasantries before heading inside the building.
Mr Zelensky was earlier welcomed off his plane by the newly-appointed Ukrainian ambassador to the UK Valeriy Zaluzhny, who was formerly the commander-in-chief of the armed forces before the Ukrainian president fired him in February.
Depsite reported animosity between the pair while they were both in office in Kyiv, Mr Zaluyzhny was pictured on the airport’s tarmac warmly welcoming Mr Zelensky.
Sir Keir opened the floor to the Ukrainian leader, who was sitting on his direct right-hand side, during the first session of the EPC, after highlighting the “urgent” need to help Ukraine in the coming months and years.
The prime minister touched Mr Zelensky’s shoulder as he noted the need for air defences to protect Ukrainian children as they return to school after the summer break. “Returning to school should be a moment of joy for children,” Sir Keir said.
He added: “The task is urgent because our security is on the line. Every day Ukraine fights not just for the Ukrainian people, but the European people, living in a continent where our belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law was hard-fought.
“President Zelensky, in your struggle to uphold those values, we salute you once again. Have no doubt we will stand with you for as long as it takes.”
Mr Zelensky added in a message on Telegram that Ukraine will “sign an intergovernmental agreement on support for the Ukrainian defence industry, discuss future defence cooperation and the expansion of our defence capabilities” during the summit.
“From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Great Britain was one step ahead in its determination to support Ukraine. This is the kind of determination needed to stop Russian terror,” he wrote on the app.
Newly-elected Sir Keir is welcoming some 45 heads of government to the EPC at Blenheim Palace to discuss migration, energy security and the threat from Russia as he seeks to restore relations between the UK and its European Union neighbours, four years after their acrimonious divorce.
The government said he’ll tell the EPC gathering that the UK plans to “take a more active and greater convening role on the world stage,” especially by helping Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion and working to crack down on the people-smuggling gangs organizing irregular migration.
“We cannot let the challenges of the recent past define our relationships of the future,” Sir Keir said.
“That is why European security will be at the forefront of this government’s foreign and defense priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe.”
It was unclear whether Mr Zelensky would attend the summit. It was reported last weekend that there was a “90 per cent” chance of the Ukrainian leader attending the event but little has been heard from Kyiv since Mr Zelensky returned after a trip to Ireland over the weekend on his way back from the Nato summit in Washington.
The meeting is the fourth for the EPC group, a brainchild of French president Emmanual Macron. It was established in 2022 as a forum for countries both inside and outside the 27-nation EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered Europe’s sense of security. Previous summits have been in the Czech capital Prague; Chisinau, Moldova; and Granada, Spain.