Zelensky thanks Kate and William for 'standing by Ukraine'

Prince William and Kate were thanked this morning by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife after the royals said they stood with them in their fight. The message of gratitude to William and Kate was posted just after 8am this morning The Duke and Duchess entertained President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena in the opulent Throne Room The area today near the regional administration building, which city officials said was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, accept the President's Award at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards Show, where they restated their support for Ukraine Harry and Meghan also posted a message of support on their Archewell site on February 24 Their February 26 post on Twitter insisted they 'stand' with the people of the war-torn nation, as they 'bravely fight' for their future. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have said they 'stand' with the people of Ukraine as they 'bravely fight' for their future William and Kate welcomed the Ukrainians to Buckingham Palace in October 2020 - their first audience since the start of the first Covid lockdown The Tweet from William and Kate was sent on Saturday and was a rare political message Ukraine war: The latest Russia promised on Monday that it would hit back against the EU following its support of Ukraine and warned the West against supplying weapons to the country A second round of talks aimed at ending Russia's attack on Ukraine is set to take place after the first meeting ended without resolution Ukraine's MoD says Russia has lost 5,300 soldiers, 29 planes, 29 helicopters and 151 tanks Russia's MoD has for the first time acknowledged suffering losses, but refused to say how many Ukraine reports 352 civilian deaths since the start of the invasion, including 14 children. Russian economy entered freefall as Western sanctions put in place over the weekend took effect, with ruble sliding to its lowest level ever Moscow's central bank has more-than doubled the interest rate to 20 per cent Russia orders people and companies to sell 80 per cent of their revenue in foreign currencies, forcing them to buy the ruble to help prop it up Moscow stock exchange won't open until at least 3pm in an attempt to head off all-out crash Zelensky has allowed Ukrainian prisoners to be freed if they join defence forces to 'repay their debt' Ukraine president also announced creation of 'international brigade' for foreign volunteers wishing to join military, after 'thousands' applied Spain's foreign minister called Putin's order to put nuclear forces on high alert 'one more sign of absolute irrationality' Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his country should be open to hosting nuclear weapons Germany announced a $112million fund to rebuild the country's armed forces, more-than double its current self-defence budget EU announced, for the first time in its history, that it will send funds to Ukraine for weapons - including fighter jets The couples did not wear masks but observed social distancing and appeared in good spirits during the meeting, the first royal event to take place at Buckingham Palace in nearly six months. The regional administration building, which city officials said was hit by a missile attack, in central Kharkiv, Ukraine Ukrainian police officer escorts refugees, at the Medyka border crossing in Poland today Russia's plan appears to be using the heavy armour to encircle and shell the city, before troops move in for street-to-street fighting.