King Charles is to meet Volodymyr Zelensky at Sandringham on Sunday in a rare and dramatic sign of royal support.
The King’s invitation to the Ukraine president came a day after Donald Trump sparked worldwide outrage by insulting and abusing Mr Zelensky at the White House.
And it is only two days after Mr Trump accepted an invitation from the King for an unprecedented second state visit to Britain – delivered to him personally by Sir Keir Starmer.
Follow latest updates from key Ukraine summit as Zelensky meets King
King Charles’s impromptu meeting with Mr Zelensky will take place after the president meets Sir Keir, who is hosting a weekend summit of EU leaders on the Ukraine crisis.
The gestures by both the King and the prime minister are bound to be seen as the clearest possible signal that Britain is backing Mr Zelensky after his bitter fall-out with Trump.
The decision to invite Zelensky to Sandringham is the most overtly political act the King has made since succeeding Queen Elizabeth.
His mother went to great lengths to keep out of politics but, by inviting Zelensky to meet him ahead of Trump, Charles runs the risk of upsetting the volatile president.
It comes as European leaders look to the prime minister to pick up the pieces and resolve what, after a few angry minutes in the Oval Office, has become a full-blown crisis.
EU leaders, already full of regret for Mr Trump’s betrayal of Western democracy, will hear a blunt message from Sir Keir about how they need to move forward without relying on America as a security guarantee.
Sir Keir will welcome Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni to Downing Street on Sunday morning, before being joined at the summit in central London by the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania.
The Turkish foreign minister, Nato secretary general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council will also attend.
The meeting with Ms Meloni could be crucial because she is close to the Trump administration and was even a guest of honour at the inauguration despite Italy failing to meet the Nato minimum of 2 per cent of GDP on defence spending.
Describing Friday’s clash between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump as a “turning point” in the war with Russia, Sir Keir says he plans to “double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position”.“In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees alongside continued discussions with the United States”, he said ahead of the meeting.
President Zelensky flew straight from Washington DC to London on Saturday for an emergency meeting with Sir Keir in Downing Street. The Ukrainian president is understood to have seen little value in trying to patch up his broken relationship with Mr Trump and Sir Keir’s open arms welcome has been taken as confirmation of his “unwavering support” for Ukraine.
In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, Mr Zelensky praised his meeting with the prime minister as “meaningful and warm”.
Sir Keir, who usually stands at the doorstep of No 10 to greet world leaders, walked towards Mr Zelensky to meet him as he arrived.
They then shared a hug before approaching the famous black door of No 10 together.
A group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelensky’s convoy drove by.
“That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine,” Sir Keir later told Mr Zelensky at the top of their meeting in Downing Street’s White Room.
At the end of their meeting, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and her Ukrainian counterpart Sergii Marchenko signed a £2.26 billion loan agreement to support Kyiv’s military and the costs of rebuilding after the war.
Ministers expect the loan will be repaid with the profits from frozen Russian assets.
European leaders are now expecting the prime minister to do what he promised and attempt to act as a bridge with the US to attempt to salvage a disastrous week.
Senior political figures have urged Sir Keir to show real leadership.
Lord West of Spithead – a former national security adviser to Gordon Brown – said that in the “wreckage” of Friday’s meeting, Sir Keir will need to balance a number of factors, including encouraging Europe to step up its defence spending.
While Lord West said Friday’s clash was “shocking” and called for the prime minister to remind the US of Putin’s “bad track record”, he warned Sir Keir against directly attacking Mr Trump.
“There needs to be some statement out there that says he [Putin] is a bloodthirsty tyrant, and we have got to keep the pressure on him through sanctions.”
But he added that it would be a “mistake for Starmer to get involved in the fight between Zelensky and Trump” and urged him not to make public comments about Mr Trump.
“I think he wants to steer well clear of that… I don’t think it will help.”
John Foreman, a former British defence attache in Moscow from 2019 to 2022, said Sir Keir could pull the negotiations back from the brink if he keeps a cool head.
“I was struck by how Starmer spoke to both Trump and Zelensky last night and has not lost his head or virtue-signalled while the European leaders have tweeted or claimed the sky is falling in. His general calmness may actually help here”, he told The Independent.
Meanwhile, Sir Malcolm Rifkind – who has previously served as both defence secretary and foreign secretary – said Britain and its European allies have a role to play in mediating between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump.
“Trump needs to sort out this mess as much as Zelensky. Otherwise, the Trump-Putin negotiations on Ukraine will never begin,” he said.
“Trump cannot deliver a deal unless Zelensky agrees. Zelensky has said he wants to restore relations with Trump. In the next week, a formula acceptable to them both should be sorted out – privately.”
Jack Lopresti, a former Tory MP who joined the Ukrainian International Legion to help in the fight against Russia, told The Independent Sir Keir must “do what Churchill, Thatcher and Blair did before him” and be both a leading force in Europe and a bridge between Europe and the US.
“How President Zelensky was treated in the White House was an absolute disgrace”, he said, calling for Europe to “step up and help Ukraine win this war and kick the Russians out of Ukraine”.
At Sunday’s meeting, Sir Keir will be pushing for more share in procurement deals. He will also point out that the UK has increased defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and will soon move to 3 per cent, while some still have not even reached the Nato minimum of 2 per cent.
