Sky News was abruptly halted for a King Charles III announcement this afternoon as the monarch met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As the breaking news banner flashed across the screen, host Jayne Secker announced: 'Breaking news, we can bring you. It's just been announced that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, has visited the King this afternoon. We knew he was across in the UK and had a meeting with the Prime Minister yesterday.' She continued: 'It's not the first time he has met the King, but it's another meeting between the President of Ukraine and the King.'
Meeting Amid Ongoing War
The Ukrainian leader's meeting with King Charles III comes a day after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Zelenskyy met to discuss their unwavering support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia's war. On Sunday evening in London, they debated 'the urgent need to scale up' Ukraine's air defenses and deep-strike capabilities.
Russian Drone Strike Near Chornobyl
The meeting with world leaders occurred hours after a Russian drone strike damaged a storage center nine miles from the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Prior to the meeting, Zelenskyy told Sky News: 'We will respond. We will be stronger and stronger each day.'
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin recently rejected an offer made in an open letter by the Ukrainian leader to engage in face-to-face talks. The Russian leader said his conflict goals remained the same and stated there was 'no point' in holding peace negotiations. Zelenskyy heavily criticized Putin's 26 years in power in the letter, which was the first he had written directly to Putin since the war started in 2022.
Condemnation of Russian Strikes
Zelenskyy also condemned Russia's strikes near Chornobyl, writing on X: 'An extremely critical infrastructure facility – and an extremely vile Russian strike. As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels. But there is certainly an increase in Russia's brazenness, which long ago went off the charts.'
