'We will not give up': Ukrainian president addresses British parliament

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) - "We will not give up, we will not lose," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed on Tuesday in an address to the British Parliament.

In the first time in history that a foreign leader spoke directly to members of parliament inside the chamber, Zelenskyy appeared via live video link from Ukraine.

Lawmakers, who listened to the live translation of Zelenskyy's speech via headsets, gave him a standing ovation before he began.

"On day one at 4 a.m., we were attacked by cruise missiles. Everybody woke up -- people, children, the entire Ukraine -- and since then we have not been sleeping," Zelenskyy said. "We have all been fighting for our country."

Ukraine "continued fighting" even after Russia demanded they lay down their weapons, despite shelling across the country that "did not break us," he said.

Zelenskyy also expressed frustration with NATO, especially its refusal to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying he felt the alliance "does not work properly."

Referring to Russia's offensive on Mariupol, he said: "They do not allow any food, any water, and people started panicking."

Zelenskyy said that over 50 children have been killed in the war, so far. "These are the children who could have lived. But, these people have taken them away from us."

Stressing that Ukraine was faced with a question of "to be or not to be" he said that after 13 days of war, "this question could have been asked but now I can give you a definitive answer, it is yes, to be."

In a reference to a famous speech by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Zelenskyy said: "I would like to remind you of the words 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, in the sea and 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."

He concluded by thanking British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his help, and asked him to step up pressure on Russia and recognize it as a "terrorist state."

The prime minister and leaders of the main opposition parties then gave brief statements after Zelenskyy's speech.

Johnson said: "Never before in all our centuries of our parliamentary democracy has the House listened to such an address."

He said the UK would continue to supply Ukraine with weapons as well as "tightening the economic vice around Vladimir Putin."

"We will employ every method we can, diplomatic, humanitarian, and economic until Vladimir Putin has failed in this disastrous venture and Ukraine is free once more," Johnson said.​​​​​​​

Russia's war on Ukraine has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

The West has also imposed biting export restrictions on key technologies that are now prohibited from being sent to Russia.

At least 406 civilians have been killed and 801 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to UN figures.