Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received a standing ovation from British politicians while appearing by video link in the House of Commons, comparing his country's fight against Russia to Britain's battle against the Nazis.
The President's request to address parliament was permitted by the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who told Mr Zelenskyy: "We have watched the situation unfold in your country with increasing concern, but also with increasing admiration for the courage, the fortitude displayed by you and your fellow Ukrainians."
In his speech, Mr Zelenskyy echoed the words of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, declaring Ukrainians would fight Russian soldiers in the forests, in the fields, on the shores and in the streets.
"We will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land — whatever the cost," he said.
Mr Zelenskyy again pleaded for help to secure his country's skies against Russian attacks, and he asked the UK House of Commons to impose heavier sanctions on Moscow and declare Russia a "terrorist state".
"Please make sure that you do what needs to be done," he said.
Mr Zelenskyy documented the Russian invasion day by day, listing the weapons used, the civilians killed and the lack of food and water for many.
Dressed in an olive-green T-shirt, he thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has sought to take a leading role in backing Ukraine against Russia, for the help already offered, but said Britain and other Western countries had to go further.
The British politicians gave the President, who has vowed to stay in Kyiv, a standing ovation at both the beginning and end of his speech.
Bombardment continues in Kharkiv
Although Russian troops have encircled Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, Ukrainian forces have managed to keep control of key cities in central and south-eastern Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy said.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Ukrainian troops repulsed efforts by Russian forces to enter the city, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Tuesday local time.
Russia has been seeking to seize the city of 1.4 million people since the start of its invasion some 13 days ago.
Kharkiv is in north-eastern Ukraine, a 45-minute drive from the Russian border, where residents predominantly speak Russian.
The city has suffered repeated bombardment that has crumbled apartment buildings and killed more than 140 since the start of the invasion.
On Tuesday, a strike on the Security Service of Ukraine building in Kharkiv also damaged the art museum next door.
The shock wave from the blast left the renowned museum with broken windows and shattered doors. Staff were forced to store their most prized possessions in the vault.
The head of the museum's foreign arts department, Marina Filatova, said when she felt her building "jump in the air" from the shelling, she realised "all is lost, pure hell".
"You know, during the first day it all started I had words. Then I had expletives," she said.
"How do you do something like that? I'm just lost for words."
Meanwhile, in the southern regional capital of Mykolayiv, Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize control in attacks that have been repulsed by Ukrainian troops, according to the presidential office.
"They'd need 10 times more force to take Mykolayiv," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a televised briefing.
The UN said Ukraine was plunging deeper into a humanitarian crisis, with more than 400 civilians killed so far.
The UN Human Rights office said 27 of those deaths were children.
The World Health Organization confirmed at least seven healthcare centres and hospitals were assaulted in the past 12 days.
While it did not outwardly blame Russian forces for the attacks, it pleaded for fighting to not occur anywhere near health facilities, all of which are protected by international humanitarian law.
ABC/wires
