In Sweden, we wholeheartedly support the brave people of Ukraine, its soldiers and veterans.
The comments were made at the Potocki Palace in Lviv, western Ukraine, ahead of a meeting with Zelenskyy. The king said he was deeply impressed by the president, whom he called a “great leader” of a country that is “very important” to Europe.
The King is traveling with Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M). He first met Zelenskyy at a memorial service, laying a wreath at a military cemetery in cloudy Lviv.
The security effort was extensive and the king was noticeably moved by the visit to the cemetery, where he laid his bouquet at a grave he had chosen himself.
Zelenskyy writes on X that Ukrainians are “deeply grateful for the respectful gesture.”
“Special” support
Ahead of the conversation with Zelenskyy, the king said he was looking forward to meeting Ukrainians and listening to their stories during the day. Lviv resident Olga, who did not want to give her last name and who caught a glimpse of the Swedish monarch in the old city center, says the visit gives hope.
"I am glad that the king is visiting us at such a difficult time, that he is not deterred by all the threats," she says.
Maria Malmer Stenergard says over the phone from Lviv that the king is "the only monarch who has visited Ukraine since the country became independent."
"It is a very strong signal of support from the Swedish people, which I am convinced has also made a strong impression on Ukraine at a time when the country really needs it, because we see how the focus tends to shift to other parts of the world, not least the Middle East," she said.
The meeting with Zelenskyy is not the King's first. The King met Zelenskyy when the president visited Sweden in 2024 and at the UN's 80th anniversary in New York last fall. At the UN, the King emphasized his "tireless support" for the Ukrainian people and their president, Zelenskyy.
Gives hope
King Carl XVI Gustaf, who turns 80 on Walpurgis Eve, has a strong commitment to Ukraine. In his speech at the National Conference of People and Defence in January, he emphasized the serious global situation and the importance of standing up for international law, and in his Christmas speech, he highlighted the courage of the Ukrainians.
"The perseverance and will of the Ukrainian people to defend their country gives us hope that Ukraine's freedom and sovereignty will be respected," he said.
Russia's full-scale offensive war against Ukraine has been going on for over four years.
Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus was born on 30 April 1946 at Haga Palace. He succeeded his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf as king on 15 September 1973.
His parents were the then Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Prince Gustaf Adolf died in a plane crash in Copenhagen in 1947 and Princess Sibylla died in Stockholm in 1972.
He married Silvia Sommerlath from Heidelberg, then West Germany, in 1976. Together they have three children: Crown Princess Victoria (born 1977), Prince Carl Philip (born 1979) and Princess Madeleine (born 1982).
