Zelenskyy's London visit and address at Westminster Hall
A look back at the Ukrainian president's trip to the United Kingdom, his second journey abroad since the full-scale invasion began.
What did Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to London on 8 February 2023 amount to? It was, above all, a rare journey abroad: the president of Ukraine left his country for only the second time since the start of the Russian invasion.
The first trip had been his December 2022 visit to the United States. This time he went to the United Kingdom, where he met King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He also addressed members of parliament in Westminster Hall, in the Houses of Parliament.
Onward to France
The London stop was not the end of the journey. As reported on 8 February 2023, Zelenskyy was to travel on to France after the UK visit. There he was expected to meet President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The itinerary placed the Ukrainian president in three European capitals' political circles in quick succession, beginning with a royal audience, a meeting with the head of government and a speech to parliamentarians in the British capital.
A note from the same week
Elsewhere in Ukrainian public life, on 6 February 2023 the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, announced that the church would adopt the Gregorian calendar from 1 September for all feasts except movable ones. He said this followed a decision of the Synod of Bishops.
