Billionaire Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson has been vocal supporter of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. At the three-year mark of the war, Branson wrote: “Now is not the time for complacency. Almost three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin is more committed than ever to the war and his broader confrontation with the West.”
After U.S. President Donald Trump arranged a meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Russian delegates to “negotiate peace” without the presence of Ukraine or Europe at the table, Branson wrote: “Europe can’t rely on the strength of the transatlantic relationship to help contain Russia’s threat – it must lead from the front and be the true force of support that Ukraine needs. Not just for Ukraine’s sake, but for a free and sovereign Europe.”
For the US to side with Russia and North Korea to oppose a UN resolution condemning the illegal invasion of Ukraine defies all common sense and adds insult to the countless injuries suffered by the brave Ukrainian people. https://t.co/BB4rbaQLye
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 24, 2025
[The next German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, issued a statement that aligned with Branson and other European leaders like Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who both met this week in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump. Merz said: “All the signals we are getting from the US indicate that interest in Europe is clearly declining, and the willingness to get involved in Europe is dwindling.”]
Today, Zelensky visited Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House and was attacked by the Americans for being “ungrateful” for aid America has provided Ukraine.
Wow, Vance and Trump are attacking Zelenskyy in the Oval Office pic.twitter.com/sISxqmgiYh
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 28, 2025
The New York Times reported that “Russian state media are savoring what they describe as a public ‘dressing down’ for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.”
Branson also responded to the embittered Oval Office exchange on X: “Whenever you welcome guests, treat them with kindness, grace and respect. Simple as that.”
Whenever you welcome guests, treat them with kindness, grace and respect. Simple as that.
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 28, 2025