Politics
Zelensky evokes Churchill in Westminster speech, compares Ukraine's war to fighting Nazis
He made the comments in an unprecedented speech to UK MPs
March 9, 2022 11:29
1 min read
He made the comments in an unprecedented speech to UK MPs
March 9, 2022 11:29Volodomyr Zelensky compared his country's struggle against Putin to Britain's fight against the Nazis in an emotional Westminster speech in the House of Commons.
The besieged Ukrainian President made the remarks via video link to a packed House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon.
In the speech, he compared his fight to the UK's battle for survival in WW2, saying: “Just the same way you once didn’t want to lose your country when the Nazis started to fight your country and you had to fight for Britain"
He also referenced the Russian attack on the site of the Babyn Yar memorial and again compared the invaders of his country to Nazis, adding: “On day six, the Russian rockets fell on Babyn Yar – that is the place where the Nazis killed thousands of people during the Second World War."
Zelensky, who was making the address in Ukrainian rather than his native Russian, referenced British icons William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill in his 10 minute speech.
He said:“The question for us now is to be or not to be. 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.
“And I would like to remind you the words that the United Kingdom have already heard, which are important again. 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.
“We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."
You can watch the speech in full above.