President Volodymyr Zelensky met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, Oct. 14, before holding talks with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, as London pledged faster air defense missile deliveries and tougher sanctions against Russia amid strained US-Ukraine relations.
King Charles received Zelensky for a private audience at Buckingham Palace, underscoring Britain’s continued support for Ukraine.
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“I thank His Majesty King Charles III for the audience,” Zelensky said afterward, expressing appreciation for the monarch’s unwavering support and Britain’s assistance to Ukraine.
Britain pledges more missiles and sanctions
Following the royal audience, Burnham welcomed Zelensky to Downing Street with a ceremonial guard of honor involving the Irish Guards.
“We are behind you and that will not change,” Burnham told the Ukrainian president.
Britain announced plans to accelerate a £45 million (approximately $60 million) package of Lightweight Multirole Missiles to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses against Russian drones, including increasingly fast jet-powered models.
The government will bring forward £10 million (approximately $13 million) to meet urgent winter requirements.
London also pledged additional sanctions against Moscow, including restrictions targeting maritime services supporting Russian liquefied natural gas exports.
Burnham said his government would continue providing military and financial support while pressing international partners to increase pressure on Russia.
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According to The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Russia used 5,221 kamikaze drones and dropped 190 guided aerial bombs (KABs).
Burnham seeks to repair US-Ukraine ties
Before meeting Zelensky, Burnham told Parliament he would seek to “repair bridges” between Trump and the Ukrainian president to restore American support.
Despite criticizing Washington’s recent decisions, Zelensky emphasized that Kyiv remained committed to its US partnership.
“We count on our partnership with the United States,” he told Burnham.
“We just want to be very honest, very clear, be strong partners.”
In a separate interview with Piers Morgan, Zelensky said he believed the overnight Starlink restrictions were not caused by technical problems.
“We are professionals. If you are losing the speed of Starlink, we understand what’s going on. So they switched off. That’s their decision,” he said.
He warned that Starlink restrictions weakened Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian drones, while separate disruptions in US intelligence-sharing left Ukraine without advance warnings of incoming Russian ballistic missiles, putting civilian lives at greater risk.
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