Prince Charles condemns Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'brutal aggression' in Ukraine  ITV News - video Dailymotion

Watch Prince Charles condemns Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'brutal aggression' in Ukraine  ITV News - Feelings Drama on Dailymotion

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00:00It might be 1,500 miles from Kyiv, but in Southend-on-Sea today,

00:05the plight of the people of the Ukrainian capital and across the whole country

00:08was clearly on Prince Charles' mind.

00:11He was in Essex to confer city status on Southend,

00:15granted by the Queen after the killing of his MP Sir David Amis last year.

00:19The killing, he said, was an attack on democracy.

00:23But the Prince then turned to President Putin's invasion.

00:26We are seeing those same values under attack today in Ukraine in the most unconscionable way.

00:36In the stand we take here, we are in solidarity with all those who are resisting brutal aggression.

00:45Prince Charles met Vladimir Putin on a state visit to Britain in 2003,

00:50then just a relatively new president of Russia.

00:53But he is a politician it seems the heir to the throne has never taken to.

00:58In 2014, on a trip to Canada, shortly after Putin invaded Crimea,

01:04the Prince apparently said,

01:05and now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler.

01:10It made sensational headlines at the time,

01:12but looks much less sensational after the events of the past week.

01:16William and Kate, meanwhile, were in Wales today, St David's Day.

01:21They voiced their support for the people of Ukraine at the weekend.

01:25The Duke and Duchess met Vladimir Zelensky in 2020,

01:28and today he responded to their message in a tweet.

01:32He and his wife, he said,

01:33are grateful to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

01:36that at this crucial time they stand by our country.

01:40Members of the royal family are duty-bound to be politically impartial

01:44and ordinarily go to great lengths not to criticise any country or any leader.

01:49But these are not ordinary times,

01:51and even though the royals can't always say what they want,

01:54they can also see right from wrong.

01:57Chris Ship, News at 10.