The Prince of Wales accepted a “Stop Putin” sign as he visited the Ukrainian community in London, as he moved to condemn “such truly terrible” Russian aggression.

The Prince paid tribute to the “extraordinary bravery, generosity and fortitude of the Ukrainian community” as he and the Duchess of Cornwall moved to show their solidarity.

In an emotional visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London, the Duchess shed quiet tears as she heard a choir of children and mothers singing for their homeland.

She hugged the wife of the Ukrainian ambassador, who was also emotional, telling her: “We are praying for you.”

In an off-the cuff speech, the Prince told the gathering: “Thank you so much for welcoming us to this very special cathedral.

“I must say my wife and I have been deeply moved by everything we have heard today during our visit and above all by the extraordinary bravery, generosity and fortitude of the Ukrainian community in the face of such truly terrible aggression.
“So if I may say so, our thoughts and prayers, however inadequate they may be, are with all of you at this most critical time.”

He then gave the cry “Slava Ukraine!” – “Glory to Ukraine!”, which the assembled guests responded to with a “Slava heroyam”, “Glory to the heroes!”

The Prince read and accepted handmade signs from schoolchildren, with painted blue and yellow flags with words including: “Save Ukraine”, “Putin Go Away”, “Stop the War”, and “Stop Putin”.

Young children offered Charles their homemade signs in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. He read and accepted signs including one that read “Stop Putin”.