Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed British war leader Sir Winston Churchill in an emotional address to MPs, vowing to fight invading Russian troops in the air, sea and on the streets.
In a speech to the House of Commons that was greeted before and after by standing ovations, Mr Zelensky repeated his call for a no-fly zone to be established by the West, asking for the UK to “make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe”.
The historic address came shortly after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced the UK will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year as part of a ratcheting up of sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
During his address to the Commons, Mr Zelensky – who is said to have to keep his whereabouts a secret due to the threat of assassination in Kyiv – appealed to MPs by quoting from Shakespeare and paraphrasing Churchill.
In a nod to one of the former British prime minister’s most inspiring speeches of the war, Mr Zelensky said: “We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.
“We will fight in the forest, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”
He also pressed home the desire of Ukrainians for their independence to continue, despite their homeland being under attack by Kremlin forces, with a line from Hamlet.
“The question for us now is to be or not to be,” he said, in a translation by Parliament TV.
“Oh no, this Shakespearean question. For 13 days this question could have been asked but now I can give you a definitive answer. It’s definitely yes, to be.”
Never before in centuries of parliamentary history has the House of Commons listened to an address like that given by President @ZelenskyyUa today.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 8, 2022
We will employ every method we can for however long it takes to ensure Putin’s invasion fails and Ukraine is free once more.
The embattled president said Ukraine faced a similar dilemma to the one Britain encountered in the Second World War.
He said the current conflict, in which he said 50 children had been killed, was akin to when Britain “didn’t want to lose your country when the Nazis started to fight your country and you had to fight for Britain”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who received a personal thanks from Mr Zelensky for his support, told the Commons after the speech that “never before in all our centuries of our parliamentary democracy has the House listened to such an address”.
“In a great European capital now within range of Russian guns, President Volodymyr Zelensky is standing firm for democracy and for freedom,” Mr Johnson said.
