Britain is preparing to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a state visit next year to show long-term support for Ukraine. Officials said, "You don't bolt a state visit on to a summit -- it would dilute the desired impact." The event marks five years since Russia started its full-scale invasion.
The grand occasion will mark five years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Britain is preparing to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a state visit next year to signal the strength of the UK's long-term commitment to Kyiv, according to people familiar with the plan.
The invitation is designed to project solidarity with Ukraine as it faces a deeply challenging winter, spanning vulnerabilities in its air defence and damage to its energy and water infrastructure.
While the exact timing of the trip is yet to be finalised, officials believe it is unlikely to coincide with Zelenskyy attending the G20 summit in Manchester next November to which he is expected to be invited.
"You don't bolt a state visit on to a summit -- it would dilute the desired impact," said one UK official.
Next year marks a grim milestone for Ukraine. It is the fifth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion and the conflict has already lasted longer than the first world war.
The plan for the state visit poses a diplomatic challenge for Whitehall and Palace officials, who are brainstorming how to create a programme that is appropriate for a wartime leader.
Government figures said the conundrum was working out how to avoid the lavish banquets, gilded carriages and other opulent flourishes that tend to be the hallmark of state visits to Britain while ensuring the occasion is still visually arresting and impactful.
King Charles, who as head of state would be Zelenskyy's formal host, is enthusiastic and open-minded about creative proposals for the agenda, the people added.
The monarch is responsible for extending the formal invitation, while a protocol team within the Foreign Office takes the lead on devising the programme of events.
Zelenskyy has visited the UK 13 times during the conflict and frequently met Sir Keir Starmer, the former British prime minister, as well as the King.
Most recently, the Ukrainian president travelled to London last month to meet Starmer's successor Andy Burnham and received the red carpet treatment, including an unprecedented guard of honour outside Downing Street.
In 2023, Zelenskyy addressed the UK parliament in front of a packed crowd of hundreds of MPs, dignitaries and other officials.
He is likely to be invited to address parliamentarians and peers for a second time during the proposed state visit.
A UK government figure summed up the visit's purpose: "What's very important is showing that there is widespread, cross-party support -- almost beyond politics -- for Ukraine in this country."
Showcasing national cohesion on the issue was "crucial for the people of Ukraine to see, but also for the Russians to see", the insider added. "They need to know that this level of support is not going anywhere in the future, whatever happens in British politics."
Another person familiar with the matter said that devising a bespoke programme for Zelenskyy would not be out of the ordinary.
"It's quite normal for us to adapt state visits to the diplomatic requirements or preferences of the incoming leader," they said.
The person highlighted Donald Trump's second state visit to Britain last year, which largely took place outside London amid fears that the US president would be confronted by major protests that could dampen diplomatic goodwill.
Ben Judah, a former Labour adviser in the Foreign Office, said the proposed visit was "positive" for Zelenskyy and "the kind of thing that we should be doing to support Ukraine".
However, Judah argued that the trip was unlikely to influence the strategic calculations that London must make about the war and its aftermath.
"We so overestimate the impact that these state visits have on our foreign policy," he added. "We need to get out of this 'the state visit will fix it' mindset."
The Foreign Office and Buckingham Palace declined to comment. British officials said all inward and outward state visits, which are conducted at the request of the government rather than the Palace, would be announced in the usual way. President Zelenskyy's office was approached for comment.