LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — President Volodymyr Zelensky met British premier Keir Starmer in London Thursday, as the Ukrainian leader embarked on a whistle-stop tour of European capitals aimed at securing military aid before next month’s crunch United States election.

Starmer greeted Zelensky with a handshake and a hug outside Downing Street, where the Ukrainian leader was also expected to meet new North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief Mark Rutte.

The British prime minister said it was “very important we’re able to show our continued commitment to support Ukraine” and the meeting was a chance to “go through the plan, to talk in more detail.”

After the London meeting, which included Defense Secretary John Healey, Chief of the Defense Staff Tony Radakin and national security adviser Tim Barrow, Zelensky heads to France and Italy, then Germany.

The Ukrainian leader, dressed in his trademark military fatigues, is seeking to secure as much financial and military backing as possible during the tour, with US support in doubt if Donald Trump wins November’s vote.

Ukraine could be facing its toughest winter yet, with Russia launching fresh waves of strikes on the country’s power grid and advances across the eastern frontline.

Zelensky’s packed itinerary involves him traveling to four European countries in under 48 hours.

On Thursday afternoon he will be in Paris for a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, and is later expected to travel to Rome for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to Italian media.

Zelensky has an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday morning, and will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on the same day, according to a German government spokesperson.