After Trump clash, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy gets warm UK welcome

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a warm embrace on Saturday after the Ukrainian leader flew to London for talks following his clash at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw support for Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded its smaller neighbour, Reuters reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Zelenskiy and Trump on Saturday and called for calm in an interview following Friday’s White House clash.

In London, a crowd cheered as Zelenskiy arrived for talks with Starmer at his Downing Street office before a summit of European leaders that the Ukrainian president will attend on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine.

“I hope you heard some of that cheering in the street. That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you … and our absolute determination to stand with you,” Starmer told him.

Starmer told Zelenskiy he had “full backing across the United Kingdom.”

“We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take,” Starmer said.

Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had “important and warm” talks with Starmer, with a discussion on strengthening Ukraine’s position and obtaining reliable security guarantees.

“During our talks we discussed the challenges standing before Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with our partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine’s position and ending the war in a just fashion, with reliable security guarantees,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.