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By Rhiannon Mills, royal correspondent

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived for lunch at Windsor Castle with the King, ahead of talks with the prime minister later today.

The Ukrainian president arrived for the meeting, which wasn’t announced in advance, just after 1pm. 

The men have developed a close relationship and met on several occasions, with the King showing support for the president and the people of Ukraine ever since the war began.

The King last met Zelenskyy at Sandringham in Norfolk in March, just two days after his bruising encounter with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. 

At the time, Zelenskyy spoke of how grateful he was for the Royal Family’s support. The men first met in 2023 and since then the King has visited Ukrainian troops being trained in Wiltshire.

King’s tribute to Ukrainian ‘heroism’

In a message to mark two years of the conflict in February 2024, the King wrote: “The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives, and livelihoods…

“Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely.  

“Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression.”

Zelenskyy will meet with Keir Starmer later to discuss how allies can increase pressure on Russia, as its attacks on Ukraine continue.

Moscow reportedly fired 352 drones and 16 missiles overnight, killing at least 10 civilians – including seven in Kyiv. Zelenskyy has described Russia, North Korea, and Iran as a “coalition of murderers”.