The Prince of Wales has spoken about the “truly terrible aggression” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime as he showed his solidarity with Kiev by visiting Ukrainians in Britain.
Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, lit candles and left flowers at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London.
They acknowledged the plight of the eastern European nation as fears grow Russia is planning a greater onslaught.
The heir to the UK throne said he and his wife had been moved by the “bravery, generosity and fortitude” of the Ukrainians in the face of the military action by Russian forces.
Cathedral staff reported that Ukrainian men have been seeking blessings before travelling back to their homeland to join the fight against Mr Putin’s army.
Camilla was left close to tears by a mournful rendition of the song Oy, u Luzi Chervona Kalyna, to welcome the couple.
Men, women and children performed the song, which was sung by Ukrainian riflemen during the First World War.
For the second day, Prince Charles spoke out about the conflict in Ukraine.
“I must say my wife and I have been deeply moved by everything we’ve heard today during our visit and above all by the extraordinary bravery, generosity and fortitude of the Ukrainian community in the face of such truly terrible aggression,” he said.
On Tuesday, during a visit to Southend-on-Sea, Essex, he said the values of democracy were under attack in Ukraine in the “most unconscionable way”.
It is understood the heir to the throne had approached the Ukrainian community offering his help and he brought representatives from five humanitarian organisations he is connected with to offer practical support.
The couple were also joined by the Ukrainian ambassador, Vadym Prystaiko, and his wife, Inna, who earlier received a rare tribute from MPs, a standing ovation in the House of Commons when he watched Prime Minister’s Questions from the gallery.
Ms Prystaiko was in tears as the duchess held back her own at the start of the event and when the royal couple left Camilla hugged the diplomat’s wife and said they would pray for her.
Charles’ royal event followed a visit by the Prime Minister to the cathedral on Sunday and emphasised the UK’s position of public support for Ukraine.
Mr Prystaiko said he was “touched” by the duchess hugging his wife and said he would convey the message this symbolised back to his homeland.
He was asked about Charles’ comments and disagreed with the suggestion they were political: “It’s not political any more. We’re past political, we’re in survival mode.
“We’re now, as the prince mentioned, trying to find a way how a nation of 40 million people can survive the aggressor.”
“We hope and pray we will be able to stop this, the question is how without real support from Nato, from the UK, from the United States … he’s still bombarding our cities,” the diplomat said.
Ruslana Bigur has lived in Britain for three years.
“He said the situation was unbelievable in the 21st century,” she said after meeting Prince Charles.
Ms Bigur, an accountant, said her parents in Ukraine had refused to move to safety.
“They want to stay because it’s their land and it’s home to them,” she said.
At the end of the visit, Charles spoke a few words of Ukrainian saying the phrase well-known in the eastern European country: “Glory to Ukraine” and received the response “Glory to the heroes” from the guests.
-
Damage after the shelling of buildings in central Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
Workers from a local construction company weld anti-tank obstacles to be placed on roads around Kyiv as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues. Reuters -
Anti-war protesters attach sunflowers to barriers in front of the Russian embassy. Reuters -
Ukrainian volunteers prepare food for displaced people outside Lviv railway station in western Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier holds an anti-tank launcher north-east of Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian refugees rest at Warsaw East train station in Poland. EPA -
Children look out from a carriage window as a train prepares to depart from a station in Lviv to the town of Uzhhorod near the border with Slovakia. AFP -
A girl who fled Ukraine is reunited with her father in Medyka, south-eastern Poland. AP Photo -
Tears outside a house damaged by a Russian airstrike in Gorenka, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo -
A civil defence member is poised to shoot as a vehicle approaches a checkpoint in Gorenka. AP Photo -
A Ukrainian civil defence member in the garden of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike. AP Photo -
Members of the US Army 3rd Infantry Division board a plane bound for Germany in Savannah, Georgia. EPA -
Prayers for peace in Ukraine at the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square. AFP -
A woman (right) hugs an arriving passenger from a train carrying refugees at Berlin's central station. EPA -
Firefighters battle a blaze in a Kharkiv police building hit by shelling. AFP -
A Ukrainian woman makes a phone call after crossing the Slovakian border. AFP -
A doctor takes shelter in the basement of a Kyiv perinatal centre. Reuters -
Debris which locals say was caused by shelling in separatist-controlled Horlivka, Donetsk. Reuters -
MPs in London give a standing ovation to Ukraine ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, who was in the public gallery. AP -
Distraught women and children fleeing Ukraine wait to enter Poland at the Korczowa crossing. Getty -
Newborn Ivan lies next to his mother as they shelter in the basement of a Kyiv perinatal centre. Reuters -
Firefighters hand water to people in a Ukrainian train full of refugees in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters -
Ukrainian refugees queue to file for residency permits at Prague's police headquarters. AFP -
Firefighters work to contain a blaze in buildings housing the Kharkiv regional police department. AFP -
A woman and her children sit in a tent in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter. AP -
Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at the Kharkiv National University building, which city officials said was damaged by Russian shelling. Reuters -
An elderly woman comforts a child as they take shelter inside an underground station in Kyiv. Reuters -
People queue at a pharmacy in central Kyiv. Reuters -
A woman is consoled by a volunteer after fleeing from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the border crossing in Siret, Romania. Reuters -
A Ukrainian civilian in the city of Zhytomyr practises throwing petrol bombs. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses after an interview with Reuters in Kyiv. Reuters -
A blast is seen at Kyiv's TV tower. Reuters -
A girl in Siret, Romania, covers herself with a blanket after fleeing from Ukraine. Reuters -
Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, acknowledges applause from US first lady Jill Biden as they attend President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address in Washington. AFP -
A man walks past the remains of Russian military vehicles in Bucha, close to Kyiv. AFP -
Civilians cross a river on a blown-up bridge on Kyiv's northern front. Defending the capital is a 'key priority', Ukraine's president has said. AFP -
Russian aircraft on the ground at Luninets Airbase, Belarus, about 50 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border. AFP -
People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha. AP -
A woman with a child who fled from the war in Ukraine reunite with their family after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland. AP -
Animal keeper Kirilo Trantin comforts an elephant at Kyiv Zoo. AP -
An armed man stands by the remains of a Russian military vehicle in Bucha. AP -
Ukrainian families say goodbye as they prepare to board a bus to Poland at Lviv, western Ukraine. AP -
Paramedics move a man who was wounded by shelling in a residential area of Mariupol, south-eastern Ukraine. AP -
Rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike in Zhytomyr. Reuters -
US actor and director Sean Penn attends a press briefing at the Presidential Office in Kyiv. Reuters -
Demonstrators participate in a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Lafayette Square in Washington. AFP -
Ukrainian soldiers rest while others eat near the front line with Russian troops in northern Kyiv. AP -
A barricade made of trams, buses and sand bags is seen through the window of car in the northern part of Kyiv. AP -
Members of the European Parliament applaud after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech at a special session to debate its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Reuters -
Ambassadors and diplomats walk out as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (on screen) speaks during a recorded message at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. EPA
The couple lit candles in the cathedral. Each left a single sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, hosted the visit.
He said Charles had genuine feelings of shock about events in Ukraine.
“From the moment we walked into the cathedral, one of his first words was how shocked he was to know what was happening and again expressed his solidarity and compassion,” he said.
“I felt he was talking to me, not just to Bishop Kenneth, but to me as a person whose friends and colleagues are suffering in Ukraine and thereby also expressing that to the wider Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom.”
Of the blessing given to men destined to fight, Bishop Kenneth said: “We certainly don’t pray that they kill anybody.
“We want to bless them and assure them of our prayers, and if they have to defend themselves, they have to defend themselves.”
