Russia, Iran, and North Korea a ‘coalition of murderers’, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday described Russia, Iran, and North Korea as a “coalition of murderers” during a visit to London in which he held talks with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on defence cooperation and also discussed ways to build pressure on Moscow to end the war. Ukraine’s president arrived in the UK on Monday, hours after the Kremlin launched another massive air raid on Kyiv—using 352 drones, half of which were Iranian-designed Shaheds, and North Korean ballistic missiles in what Zelensky called “a completely cynical strike”.
As per reports, at least 10 people were killed and five civilian apartment blocks were damaged badly.

“A large number of drones and missiles were shot down by our air defenders, but not all,” Zelensky posted on social media.

“Everyone in countries neighbouring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be thinking carefully about whether they could protect lives if this coalition of murderers persists and continues spreading their terror.”

Zelensky has supported Donald Trump’s missile strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and has accused Tehran of complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons arsenal in the 1990s in exchange for US, British, and Russian security guarantees, but they failed to prevent the 2022 attack. Zelenskyy’s latest trip to the UK was to discuss how to compel Russia to stop its war, Ukrainian officials said.

His previous visit in March followed a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump accused him of “gambling with World War Three” and the US vice-president, JD Vance, berated him for supposed ingratitude.

The discussions on Monday encompassed sanctions and the Trump administration, which has so far refused to punish Russia and has practically ended US weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Ukraine has been attempting to keep Washington onside diplomatically, despite its apparent pivot to Moscow.

“We will be negotiating new and powerful steps to increase pressure on Russia for this war and to put an end to the strikes,” Zelensky said. He also met King Charles at Windsor Castle and visited Ukrainian soldiers receiving military training in the UK.