Zelensky to visit UK and Spain on Tuesday and Wednesday

2026-03-16 - 23:54

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Spain will be his fourth since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. (AFP pic) LONDON: The UK will “welcome” Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, British defence secretary John Healey told parliament, with the Ukrainian leader then due to travel to Madrid the next day. “Our total determination to stand with Ukraine remains steadfast, and we will welcome President Zelensky to this country tomorrow,” Healey said on Monday. Healey’s announcement came hours after UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he would be meeting the Ukrainian leader “soon”. Ukraine’s European allies have vowed to keep up their support for Kyiv in the conflict with Russia, after Washington partly rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war. Zelensky will also travel to Madrid for talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday, sources in the Spanish PM’s office said. “We face two conflicts on two continents, supported by an axis of aggression with similar tactics and similar technologies,” Healey told the House of Commons. Earlier on Monday, Starmer said it was “vital” to “continue to focus on supporting Ukraine” amid the war launched by Russian president Vladimir Putin. “We cannot allow the war in the Gulf to turn into a windfall for Putin,” Starmer warned, referring to the US easing of sanctions on Moscow. Britain announced a fresh sanctions package against Russia targeting oil exports and military equipment suppliers in February, marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Zelensky’s visit to Spain will be his fourth since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. In November, he secured a fresh military aid package worth €615 million from Spain after meeting Sanchez in Madrid. The US is pushing Kyiv and Moscow to agree to an elusive peace deal, but a third round of three-party talks has been derailed by the war in the Middle East.