The chorus echoed a line from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s moving speech during World War II.
“The question for us now is whether to be or not to be,” Zelensky said, recalling Shakespeare. “I can give you the definitive answer: it definitely will.”
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After Zelensky’s speech, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that British humanitarian aid, military support and sanctions against Russia would continue “until Ukraine is free”. He has not responded to Zelenskiy’s repeated calls for a NATO-led no-fly zone, which Western countries have dismissed as a move that could escalate into a larger confrontation with Russia.
In previous speeches to Western leaders, Zelenskiy has used the same emotional and defiant tone. When he spoke to members of the US Congress via Zoom last week, he told politicians that this might be the last time they see him alive.
“For 13 days we have been hearing promises, 13 days we have been told that they will help us in the air, that there will be planes, that they will deliver them to us,” Zelensky said in a video released on Tuesday. in Telegram. He suggested that “those who did not protect the Ukrainian skies from Russian assassins” bear some responsibility for the massacre.
When a Ukrainian activist pleaded with Johnson on March 1 to support the no-fly zone, the British leader said: “Unfortunately, the consequence of this is that the UK will shoot down Russian aircraft while engaging in direct combat with Russia. It’s not something we can do.”
As of Tuesday, the United Nations said that about 2 million civilians had fled Ukraine and that 474 people had been killed and 861 injured, although the actual number of casualties is undoubtedly “much higher“.
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A video of Zelensky in an olive green military T-shirt was projected on large screens set up in Parliament for British lawmakers who wore headphones to hear the interpreter.
Lindsey Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, said ahead of the speech that it would be “historic” and that “every parliamentarian wants to hear directly from the president, who will speak to us live from Ukraine, so this is an important opportunity.” for home”.
On Saturday, Zelensky addressed US lawmakers and explicitly called for more military assistance, including helping him get more Soviet-era fighter jets to fend off Russian air raids.
During a Zoom call attended by more than 280 members of the Senate and House of Representatives, Zelenskiy said there was an “urgent need” for more military support and humanitarian aid, as well as a worldwide ban on the purchase of Russian oil, statements and statements said. people on the call who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.
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In his speech this month before the European Parliament, Zelenskiy described how Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, was beaten up. The president’s English-language interpreter briefly suffocated while speaking.
The translator of the speech of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky before the European Parliament on March 1 broke down during a speech. (Washington Post)
Zelensky last week thanked Britain’s Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, for “courageous opposition to the Russian invasion” after the couple made a rare foray into politics. tweet that they “support the president and all the people of Ukraine when they fight bravely.”
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not going as planned and that the Russian military is suffering heavy casualties.
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“The Russians are not doing very well,” Wallace. said British Sky News. “It’s day 13 now, way off their schedule.”
“Probably the biggest loss to date is the Russian military,” he added, “who were let down by terrible leadership and terrible plans.”
Wallace also said a 40-mile convoy of Russian military vehicles heading from the north on a route towards Kyiv was “still stuck” outside the Ukrainian capital. US officials attribute the apparent delay in part to logistics on the Russian side. They also believe that Ukrainian attempts to attack parts of the column contributed to its slowdown. But they warn that the Russians can regroup and move forward at any moment.
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“We see that the Russians have real logistical problems, so it affects morale; they can’t handle it, they’re getting more and more desperate,” Wallace added. “Russia has built a trap for itself.”
Wallace also said the UK was “increasing our support for both lethal and non-lethal assistance to Ukraine” and that it would offer military support to neighboring NATO member Poland if London decided to provide fighter jets to Ukraine.
“I would support the Poles and whatever they choose,” Wallace said, but noted that the UK could not offer aircraft that the Ukrainians could use. “Poland will understand that the choice they made will not only directly help Ukraine, which is good, but may also put them in the direct line of fire from countries like Russia or Belarus.”
Wallace said he expects Zelenskiy’s Tuesday speech to be “incredibly powerful” and called the Ukrainian president “a great guy.”