“Britain is one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies. Its presence at the funeral is a sign of that friendship and mutual respect.” Ms Zelenska will be among 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries to attend the Queen’s funeral on Monday. She has represented Ukraine elsewhere since the start of the war, including attending the EU’s State of the Union address earlier this week as guest of honor and holding high-profile meetings at the White House in July. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been invited to the funeral. He offered his condolences to the royal family after the monarch’s death last week, saying “For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as power on the world stage.” But amid his ongoing invasion of Ukraine and a major rift with the West, Putin was among a small handful of world leaders not invited. Responding to the absence of an invitation to Putin, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said: “We see this British attempt to use the national tragedy, which touched the hearts of millions of people around the world, for geopolitical purposes. we come clean with our country… as profoundly immoral.” Other countries whose officials have not been invited include Russia’s ally Belarus, Myanmar, Syria and Taliban-led Afghanistan.
