« I speak to you on behalf of the brave who fight in the trenches or to defend the skies from Russia and to restore Ukraine's sovereignty over its territories or».

Thus the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky opened his speech in English before the British Parliament gathered in full force in the historic Westminster Hall for a first greeting as part of today's surprise visit of the Ukrainian president to the United Kingdom: it is the second abroad since the beginning of the open war with Moscow on February 24, 2022 after the one carried out in the USA in December .

Greeted by an ovation from British parliamentarians, the Ukrainian president expressed heartfelt thanks to the United Kingdom " for standing by Ukraine's side from day one of the war, when the rest of the world had not yet understood the scale of the challenge ". Zelensky praised the leadership of former premier Johnson (calling him "Boris") and the courage of the British.

"We Ukrainians will repay you with victory," he said, "we know that freedom will win, that Russia will lose, and that our victory will change the world."

He accused Moscow of "heinous occupation and missile terrorism", thanked the United Kingdom for having supplied weapons to "protect the lives of children, civilians, women, the elderly and citizens" and renewed the request for "fighter planes", after having acknowledged London's leading role in pushing for more international military aid to Kiev , starting with the recent green light for heavy tanks.

" Putin and the Russians are evil ", he continued, invoking the goal of bringing the Russian president to international justice, insisting on the need to put an end to Moscow's "impunity" and to require it to pay for the reconstruction of the future in the future. 'Ukraine. Because the end of the war has already been decided: " Freedom will win and Russia will lose ."

Zelensky's European tour begins here, from Westminster and two private meetings with King Charles and Prime Minister Sunak, which continues this evening in Paris and ends tomorrow in Brussels, where the Ukrainian president will participate in the European Council and will speak at the European Parliament.

(Unioneonline/L)

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