Volodimir Zelenski thanks Carlos III for his help to Ukrainians who took refuge from the war

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, met this Wednesday with King Charles III who received him at Buckingham Palace on the occasion of his visit to the United Kingdom.

Dressed in his now famous khaki military clothingZelensky had just left Parliament, where he had said that meeting Charles for the first time since he acceded to the throne would be “a truly special moment” for him.

The Ukrainian president expressed his gratitude to the monarch “for the warm reception and for helping the Ukrainian citizens who took refuge from the war in the United Kingdom”.

The UK is the second country the Ukrainian leader has visited, after the US in December, since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

Thus began a European mini-tour that at night will take him to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and the head of the German government Olaf Scholz. On Thursday he is due to travel to Brussels, where a summit of European Union leaders begins.

“We will meet with the European leaders tomorrow,” Zelensky said. “When you only have ten NATO armored vehicles against tens of thousands of Russian tanks what are your chances?“, asked.

Germany recently agreed to send battle tanks and on Tuesday announced together with the Netherlands and Denmark that they will deliver “at least 100 Leopard 1 A5 tanks″ in “the next few months”. But other countries that had pledged appear to be dragging their feet, details afp.

Experts agree that Russia is preparing a major offensive for late winter or early spring, with the aim of conquering the entirety of Donbas, which it now partially occupies.

Updated maps of Russia, including regions of Ukraine it claims to have annexed, went on sale in Moscow bookstores on Tuesday: Zaporizhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk. (YO)