Olusegun Ariyo
Britain’s King Charles III met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Sandringham retreat on Sunday.
Charles welcomed Zelensky to the estate in eastern England for just under an hour, immediately after the latter attended the defence summit on Ukraine in London.
A military helicopter carrying the Ukrainian leader was seen flying low and descending over the estate at around 5:25 pm (17:25 GMT).
Local residents, some holding Ukrainian flags, gathered outside the estate in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his arrival.
A motorcade then escorted the president through the estate grounds to Sandringham House, where King Charles greeted him at the doorstep.
They embraced and shook hands before chatting briefly and posing for photographs.
The monarch then warmly received Zelensky in the house’s saloon room, where tea was served.
A helicopter departed the estate at around 6:35 pm.
The pair previously met during Zelensky’s surprise visit to the UK in February 2023 in a historic audience at Buckingham Palace.
They also shook hands and held a private meeting at the European Political Community summit in Oxfordshire in July 2024.
Their latest meeting came after Zelensky’s unprecedented public clash with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the White House’s Oval Office on Friday.
A day earlier, Charles had invited Trump to the UK for an unprecedented second state visit.
