Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, officially announced their support for Ukraine on Feb. 26. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took to their Twitter account to share a brief but meaningful statement about the country currently under attack by Russia and revealed they had met with the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska in Oct. 2020 to discuss “hope and optimism” for the future.
In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine’s future.
Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future 🇺🇦 W & C
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 26, 2022
“In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine’s future,” William and Kate’s message read. “Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine’s people as they bravely fight for that future 🇺🇦 W & C.”
William and Kate’s statement in support of Ukraine comes just two days after William’s brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle also publicly announced their support for the country. “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same,” their statement, which was released on their Archewell Foundation website, read.
The royals are just some of the many people in the public eye, including politicians and celebrities, who have spoken out against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his decision to invade Ukraine with the Russian military. President Joe Biden was one of the politicians to denounce the attacks in his own official statement on Feb. 24.
“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bare the consequences,” he said, while also assuring that the U.S. military forces won’t be joining the conflict in Europe, but will continue to support Ukraine and NATO allies.
“This aggression cannot go unanswered. If it did, the consequences for America would be much worse,” the president added. “America stands up to bullies. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are.”