Office of the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and First Lady Elena Zelenskaya met on Monday, April 29, in Kyiv with Her Royal Highness Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, wife of Prince Edward, brother of the British monarch King Charles III (Charles III).
As reported on the website of President Zelensky, this is the first visit of a member of the British royal family to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“We really appreciate the support of the people of Great Britain, in particular, we are grateful for providing shelter for our refugees from the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion. We are also very grateful for all the military assistance packages of your government and prime ministers. This is very important for our military,” he emphasized Zelensky during the meeting.
The First Lady thanked the guests for the fight against sexual violence in the war, noted Britain’s assistance in organizing a national judicial investigation into Russian war crimes and participation in the Coalition for the return of Ukrainian children held captive in the Russian Federation, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
The Duchess of Edinburgh visited the city of Irpen, Kyiv region, as announced by the mayor of the city, Alexander Markushin. “Despite the constant threat of Russian shelling, the Duchess of Edinburgh personally came to Ukraine and immediately visited Irpen. She was interested in the details of the evacuation and the heroic struggle of Irpen residents for their city,” he wrote in his Telegram channel. According to the mayor of the city, the visit was prepared in secret and was very unexpected.