Everything Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in 'Churchillian' speech to MPs
08.03.2022 - 23:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a historic address to the House of Commons this evening, as he was beamed into the chamber via a live link from war-torn Kyiv.
MPs stood and applauded before he delivered a speech in which he invoked wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill and quoted William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
"We will not give up and we will not lose," he vowed.
In front of a packed chamber, he urged the Prime Minister - who he called 'Boris' - to recognise Russia as a 'terrorist state' - and claimed 'over 50 children' have died so far as he went through the Russian invasion of his city day by day.
His words - calm, clear and measured - were translated to MPs listening through headphones.
Here's everything he said:
According to the English language translation on Parliament TV, here is what Mr Zelensky told MPs and peers:
“Mr Speaker, all the Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, I am addressing all the people of the United Kingdom and all the people from the country with a big history.
“I am addressing you as a citizen, as a president, of also a big country, with a dream and big effort.
“I would like to tell you about the 13 days of war, the war that we didn’t start and we didn’t want. However we have to conduct this war, we do not want to lose what we have, what is ours, our country Ukraine.
“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.
“Thirteen days of this struggle, on day one at four o’ clock in the morning we were attacked by cruise missiles. Everybody woke up and people with children, the entire Ukraine and since that we have not been sleeping.
“We have all been fighting for our country, with