Amid the Russian invasion, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv on Saturday.

“Boris Johnson’s visit in Kyiv began just now with a tete-a-tete meeting with President Zelensky,” presidential aide Andriy Sybiha said on Facebook, posting a photo of the pair. “The UK is the leader in the defence support of Ukraine,” Sybiha wrote.

According to Downing Street, Johnson meeting face-to-face with Zelensky in Kyiv as part of a “show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people”. “They will discuss the UK’s long-term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid,” AFP quoted a spokesperson as saying.

Meanwhile, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said that a global pledging event for Ukrainian refugees called Stand Up for Ukraine has raised 10.1 billion euros ($11 billion).

“The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign has raised 9.1 billion euros for people fleeing bombs, inside and outside Ukraine, with an additional billion pledged by EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development),” von der Leyen said.

Earlier on Friday, the European Commission chief along with the EU’s top diplomat visited Kyiv and met with the Ukrainian president. She also visited the site of the Bucha massacre, a town northwest of Kyiv.

Their visit had come as the European Union recalled its ambassador to Kyiv, underlining the improved security situation and the EU-27’s commitment to the beleaguered country.

Horrific visuals of mass killings in Ukraine’s north-western city of Bucha have sent shockwaves across the world. Ukrainian authorities have claimed that at least 300 civilians were killed in this city by Russian troops during the war.

President Zelenskyy has claimed that Russian troops carried out horrific war crimes that included shooting citizens at point-blank. However, Russia has denied these claims and instead claimed that Ukraine faked footage of the event or staged the killings itself as a false flag attack.