KYIV—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a visit to Sweden on Saturday, saying he had arrived in the Scandinavian country for talks with the government, political parties and the Swedish royal family.
The visit comes almost a year-and-a-half into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as Stockholm is set on joining NATO, like its neighbor Finland.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the commander of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive in an army HQ in the southern Russia city of Rostov-on-Don, the Kremlin said early Saturday.
Moscow gave no details on when the meeting took place, but footage released by state media indicated it was at night. The Russian leader met the generals after the US approved the transfer of Dutch and Danish F-16s to Kyiv.
“Olena and I arrived in Sweden,” Zelensky said on social media, referring to his wife. He said he will hold talks focused on “partnership, defence cooperation, EU integration, and common Euro-Atlantic security.”
“I thank all Swedes who support Ukraine.”
Shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Sweden broke with its doctrine of not delivering weapons to countries at war, pledging thousands of AT4 anti-tank weapons.
Last month, Turkey dropped its opposition to Sweden entering NATO, greenlighting Stockholm’s accession aspirations.
Moscow has said that Sweden joining NATO would threaten Russia’s security and said it was planning countermeasures.