The King hosts a reception ahead of the Ukraine Recovery Conference

The Ukraine Recovery Conference is being held in London from 21st-22nd June 2023. Co-hosted by the UK and Ukraine, it is a continuation of a cycle of annual events, with the last conducted jointly with Switzerland in Lugano.

The previous conference, held for the first time during the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, launched the Lugano Principles, which laid the foundation for the reconstruction process of Ukraine and united the world in supporting this effort.

URC 2023 aims to galvanise international investment to rebuild Ukraine and will focus on how best to enable private sector involvement, alongside the role of governments, Ukraine’s own transformation and reform programme and the support of the international community, to help Ukraine’s economic recovery to come back stronger, as a modern, stable and resilient democracy.

Guests included the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Denys Shmyhal; President of European Commission, Dr. Ursula Von der Leyen and His Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Dame Melinda Simmons, who presented. Ukrainian civil society leaders. These leaders included Mr. Masi Nayyem, a decorated Ukrainian veteran and lawyer who received shrapnel wounds to the head on a combat mission during the invasion and now campaigns for veterans rights and support.

The King and Ukraine

As Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, The King and Queen visited a Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Canada to meet refugees in May 2022. In London, The King has visited the Ukrainian Catholic Church twice to meet refugees and hear about their experiences, in March (accompanied by the then Duchess of Cornwall) and November 2022 (accompanied by the First Lady of Ukraine).

His Majesty hosted President Zelensky at Buckingham Palace for an Audience in February 2023. In the same month, The King visited Ukrainian troops during training exercises overseen by the British Army, and sent an official message marking one year since the start of the war:

“It has now been a year that the people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack on their nation. They have shown truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy. The world has watched in horror at all the unnecessary suffering inflicted upon Ukrainians, many of whom I have had the great pleasure of meeting here in the U.K. and, indeed, across the world, from Romania to Canada. Earlier this month I met President Zelenskyy at Buckingham Palace to express my personal support for the people of Ukraine. It is heartening that the United Kingdom, along with its allies, is doing everything possible to help at this most difficult time. Therefore, I can only hope the outpouring of solidarity from across the globe may bring not only practical aid, but also strength from the knowledge that, together, we stand united.

Charles R”