Volodymyr Zelensky hugged a veteran at a D-Day ceremony in Normandy and told him: “You saved Europe…you are our hero”.

The Ukrainian president exchanged emotional words with the veteran on a surprise trip to Thursday’s international ceremony on Omaha beach.

The man, who was sitting in a wheelchair, pulled Mr Zelensky in to tell him: “You’ll save all the people. You’re my hero.”

The Ukrainian leader replied: “No, no, you saved Europe. You are our hero.”

A video feed of the two men embracing was beamed onto screens at Omaha beach, in northern Normandy, and applauded by crowds of veterans and their family members.

Although it is not clear where the man was from, he was wearing a jacket with branding from the Best Defense Foundation, an American veterans’ support organisation.

Joe Biden, the US president, used his address at the American cemetery in Normandy to praise Ukraine for its fight against Russia, comparing Vladimir Putin’s invasion to the Nazi occupation of France.

Mr Zelensky will meet with Mr Biden and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, at next month’s Nato summit in Washington DC.

His request for Ukraine to receive an accelerated pathway to the alliance is expected to be rejected.