
King welcomes Volodymyr Zelensky to lunch at Windsor Castle
Charles welcomed the leader to an audience, followed by lunch, at the Berkshire royal residence on Monday.
Mr Zelensky has travelled to the UK to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and discuss his country's defences and new ways to increase pressure on Russia ahead of a Nato summit that starts on Tuesday.
The King shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The Ukrainian president was dressed in a black blazer and black trousers, rather than his usual combat fatigues, for his trip to the castle.
Charles and Mr Zelensky were pictured chatting as they made their way through the historic residence, and smiling as they shook hands in the Grand Corridor.
The King and the Ukrainian leader have met numerous times before including in March when Charles invited him an audience at Sandringham in Norfolk, and last July at the European Political Community summit at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
The two men chat inside the castle (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Mr Zelensky's arrival in the UK follows reports that Russia fired 352 drones and 16 missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least 10 civilians including seven in Kyiv.
Mr Zelensky said preliminary reports indicated Russia had used North Korean missiles to attack Kyiv and described those two countries, and Iran, as a 'coalition of murderers'.
Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at Windsor (Jonathan Brady/PA)
His visit to London comes the day before Nato leaders are set to meet in The Hague for a two-day summit, with increased defence spending top of the agenda.
Mr Zelensky has been invited to the summit but will not take part in its main discussions, and it is still unclear whether he will attend at all.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Keir Starmer heads to Nato summit where he will vow to spend 5% of GDP on defence - but PM is accused of using 'smoke and mirrors' to 'con' Donald Trump
Sir Keir Starmer 's pledge to increase defence and security spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 was last night branded 'a con'. The Prime Minister will unveil the promise at a Nato summit today, with the alliance's 31 other members also expected to sign up to it. It will commit Britain to spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence spending, such as troops and weapons, plus a further 1.5 per cent on security-related domestic infrastructure. The summit comes after Sir Keir's meeting yesterday with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at No 10. But critics pointed out that the pledge does not accelerate spending on core defence beyond what has already been promised by Labour. By contrast, Germany said it would accelerate its spending to hit the core defence target by 2029 – six years early – amid growing global instability and the prospect of a war in the Middle East. Sir Keir also faced questions about how the commitment would be paid for amid stagnant growth and the prospect of tax hikes this autumn. The Royal United Services Institute, a leading defence and security think-tank, estimates hitting the target on core defence alone could cost an extra £40 billion a year. Until now, the Government has pledged to increase core defence spending to 2.6 per cent of GDP in 2027. But under the Nato agreement, this will remain the same. The 1.5 per cent of GDP spending on security-related domestic infrastructure would be hit by 2027. However, Nato members effectively decide themselves whether they're hitting this part of the target and there are fears Labour will try to include items not strictly related to defence. Downing Street sources said, for example, that it could include spending on beefing up energy security amid the switch to NetZero and fighting migrant-smuggling gangs. Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace posted on X: 'Tomorrow at the Nato summit we will witness the UK Government trying to con the US and Nato with spin on defence spending. 'By folding in other departments' spending and with no real defence £ increases, the PM will claim 5 per cent. 'The threat to our country is real not spin. This Government thinks it can use smoke and mirrors to deceive the public and Donald Trump. 'This is an insult to our troops who will see no significant new money. It fools no one.'


ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
UK set to commit to boost defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035
The UK will increase spending on defence and security to 5% of GDP by 2035, the Prime Minister is set to announce at a meeting of Nato leaders. The target, expected to be formally agreed by the 32-nation military alliance at a summit in The Hague this week, includes spending 3.5% on 'core defence' and another 1.5% on 'resilience and security'. It represents a significant jump from the current 2% Nato target, and from the UK Government's aim of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence from 2027 and 3% at some point after the next election. But the figure is in line with the demands of US President Donald Trump, who has called for Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden of European defence. Ahead of his trip to the Netherlands, Starmer said the increased spending target was 'an opportunity to deepen our commitment to Nato and drive greater investment in the nation's wider security and resilience'. He said: 'We must navigate this era of radical uncertainty with agility, speed and a clear-eyed sense of the national interest to deliver security for working people and keep them safe.' The Government expects to spend 1.5% of GDP on resilience and security by 2027. The details of what counts towards that target are due to be set out during this week's summit, but it is likely to include spending on energy and border security as well as intelligence agencies. But increasing core defence spending to 3.5% will not happen until 2035, with at least two elections likely to take place before then. Nor would Downing Street say how the increase would be paid for, with a spokesman describing the figure as 'a projected target' that allies would review in 2029 when Nato carries out its next capability assessment. The Royal United Services Institute has estimated that increasing core defence spending to 3.5% by 2035 would cost £40 billion a year more than keeping the figure at 2.5%. Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Tories welcomed the higher Nato target, but said the Government's commitment was 'both unfunded and a decade away, when the threat we face is real and imminent.' Sir Keir's announcement came as the Prime Minister prepared to fly to the Netherlands for the two-day Nato summit against the background of both the war in Ukraine and escalating hostilities in the Middle East. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte described the move to spend more on defence as a 'quantum leap' that would make the organisation 'a stronger, a fairer and a more lethal alliance."


Times
an hour ago
- Times
Keir Starmer forced to boost defence spending in Nato-first policy
Britain spent 2.3 per cent of its national income on defence in 2024 compared with the United States which spent 3.19 per cent. Sir Keir Starmer has now been forced to commit to spend 5 per cent of national income on security by 2035, a figure which includes 3.5 per cent on hard defence, in line with Nato allies and to appease Donald Trump. Experts say this will eventually cost taxpayers an extra £40 billion a year. There are no clear plans on how to pay for it. Starmer delivers a speech during a visit to the BAE Systems' Govan facility in Glasgow earlier this month ANDY BUCHANAN/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Under Nato's rules for spending, the UK expects to reach at least 4.1 per cent of national income on security in 2027. 'Security' will include infrastructure projects and military mobility, such as adapting roads and bridges for tanks. 'Hard defence' is weapons and troops. Only a few weeks ago the government was tying itself in knots over defence spending, with the prime minister refusing to commit to spend just 3 per cent of defence by 2034, baffling senior military figures. Starmer said 3 per cent during the next parliament was an 'ambition' only, because he would not indulge in 'performative fantasy politics', despite knowing he would be heading to the Nato summit under pressure to commit to much more. John Healey, the defence secretary, rowed back on remarks made to The Times where he said spending 3 per cent in the next parliament, by 2034, was a certainty. Three days later he said 'we will never make commitments to increase funding unless we can show how we are paying for them'. The prime minister visits a Vanguard class submarine off the coast of Scotland CROWN COPYRIGHT However, after pressure from the US, Britain and Europe have been left with no choice but to dramatically increase their spending. The US expects Britain to take on a leading role in Europe and the strategic defence review emphasises a 'Nato-first' policy. It is unclear how exactly the government plans to spend billions of pounds a year extra on defence and security by 2035. Professor Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute, has said meeting 3.5 per cent by 2035 would cost £40 billion more annually than if it stayed at 2.5 per cent in the same year. So far the government has only set out how it plans to spend 2.6 per cent on defence by April 2027, mainly by taking money away from the aid budget.