Zelenskyy cheered as he says ‘freedom will win’ during historic address to UK parliament
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received a standing ovation and cheers from parliament as he called on the UK and the West to provide Ukraine with fighter jets during a surprise visit to London.
The Ukrainian president is the first foreign leader to address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall, the oldest part of parliament, since former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now in jail, in 2012.
Wearing his usual outfit of military fatigues, Mr Zelenskyy entered the famous hall, where the Queen’s coffin lay in state, to a standing ovation and cheers from MPs and peers.
Zelenskyy addresses MPs – live politics latest
He said: “We will always come out on top of evil.
“We know freedom will win. We know Russia will lose.”
He thanked “all the people of England and Scotland, of Wales and Northern Ireland” for their support, on behalf of “our fighters who are now in the trenches under enemy artillery fire”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received a handful of mentions from his Ukrainian counterpart, especially as he thanked the PM for providing more equipment to his country.
After saying he will “have the honour” to meet King Charles later, Mr Zelenskyy presented the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lyndsay Hoyle, with a signed helmet from “one of our most successful” Ukrainian Air Force pilots.
“He’s one of our kings,” he said.
“And the writing on the helmet reads: ‘We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it’.”
He added: “In Britain, the King is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king.”
Sir Lindsay Hoyle held up the pilot’s helmet given to him by Mr Zelenskyy
Appeal for fighter jets
Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped the symbol of the helmet will help for their “next coalition of planes”.
He added: “I appeal to you, and the word is simple, and the most important words: Combat aircraft for Ukraine are wings for freedom.”
The Ukrainian president finished his speech by thanking parliamentarians for their support.
“And leaving British parliament two years ago, I thanked you for delicious English tea,” he said to laughter.
“And I will be leaving the parliament today thanking all of you in advance for powerful English planes.
“God bless Great Britain and long, long live the King. Slava Ukraini.”
Mr Zelenskyy was then driven to Buckingham Palace to have a meeting with the King, who was seen dashing back from an appointment through Westminster.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy shakes MPS hands after his speech
Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets King Charles
Boris Johnson gets personal thanks
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, who has a close relationship with Mr Zelenskyy and has been one of Ukraine’s most vocal backers, was spotted in the crowd of politicians.
The Ukrainian leader singled out Mr Johnson, thanking him personally for extending “your helping hand when the world had not yet come to understand how to react”. They then shared a long handshake and brief chat as the Ukrainian left the hall.
Following the speech, Mr Johnson reiterated his calls for the UK to increase its support for Ukraine with longer-range missiles and artillery as well as more tanks and Typhoon jets.
Mr Zelenskyy added to parliament that the UK “all showed your grit and character” and the “strong British character” at the beginning of the war.
“You did not compromise your ideals and thus you didn’t compromise the spirit of this great alliance. Thank you very much,” he added.
Winston Churchill’s war chair
He received one of many ovations after saying: “Do you have a feeling that the evil will crumble once again? I can see in your eyes now we think the same way as you do.
“We know freedom will win. We know. We know Russia will lose.
“And we really know the victory. The victory will change the world. And this will be a change that the world has long needed.”
Winston Churchill also got a mention as Mr Zelenskyy said two and a half years ago he came to London, when he had just been made president, and sat in Winston Churchill’s armchair “from which war orders were given” at the Churchill War Rooms.
“I certainly felt something, but it is only now that I know what the feeling was – and all Ukrainians know it perfectly well too,” he told parliamentarians.
“It is the feeling of how bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your bravery, from all of us.”
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Rishi Sunak welcomed Zelenskyy
Surprise visit
In an unannounced visit, the Ukrainian president arrived in the UK on Wednesday just before 10.30am on an RAF plane at Stansted Airport, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted him.
Both leaders travelled to Downing Street in a cavalcade before they entered Number 10 to clapping from behind the doors for the president and his sizeable security detail, something usually only reserved for a new prime minister.
After entering No 10, Mr Zelenskyy thanked Britain for its “big support from the first days of full-scale invasion” and said his country has “very good relations with Rishi”.
The visit is only Mr Zelenskyy’s second visit outside Ukraine since Russia invaded last February. He travelled to the United States just before Christmas and stopped off in Poland on the way back.
Mr Zelenskyy is set to meet King Charles at Buckingham Palace this afternoon and will visit also Ukrainian troops training in the UK.
Moments after Mr Zelenskyy arrived, the UK imposed further sanctions on companies supplying equipment to Russia for the war and Russians connected to “nefarious financial networks”, helping the Kremlin elites maintain wealth and power.
Mr Sunak also announced an “immediate” surge of military equipment for Ukraine, an offer to train 20,000 more Ukrainian troops, plus training for fighter jet pilots so they can fly NATO-standard fighter jets and a training programme for marines.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t guarantee Ukraine’s security
Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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