LONDON, 8 Feb: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for fighter jets to ensure his country\u2019s victory over Russia in a dramatic speech before the U.K. Parliament, where he also thanked the British people for their support since \u201cDay One\u201d of Moscow\u2019s invasion.
\nThe embattled leader\u2019s daring to visit Britain in a bid for more advanced weapons comes as Ukraine braces for an expected Russian offensive and hatches its own plans to retake land held by Moscow\u2019s forces. Support from Western allies thus far has been key to Ukraine surprisingly stiff defense \u2014 and now the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.
\nHundreds of lawmakers and parliamentary staff packed the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest \u2014 and unheated \u2014 part of Parliament for Zelenskyy\u2019s speech. It was only his second confirmed journey outside Ukraine since Russia invaded nearly a year ago.
\nZelenskyy,, wearing his trademark olive drab sweatshirt, urged allies to send his country jets, saying combat aircraft would be \u201cwings for freedom.\u201d
\nThe president, who planned to meet later with King Charles III, noted that the British monarch was a qualified military pilot.
\n\u201cThe king is an Air Force pilot,\u201d Zekenskyy said, and \u201cin Ukraine today, every Air Force pilot is a king.\u201d
\nHe brought a gift of a Ukrainian Air Force helmet, inscribed by a Ukrainian pilot with the phrase: \u201cWe have freedom. Give us wings to protect it.\u201d
\nIn past wars, \u201cevil lost,\u201d Zekenskyy told lawmakers. \u201cWe know Russia will lose and we we know victory will change the world.”
\nHe also called for stronger sanctions against Moscow, until \u201cRussia is deprived of any possibility to finance this war.\u201d
\nHe said he was speaking on behalf of the brave people of his own country \u2014 and thanked Britons for their bravery.
\n\u201cLondon has stood with Kyiv since Day One,\u201d he said, handing over a combat helmet as a thank you to Britain.
\nZelenskyy has rallied support for his country repeatedly through such speeches \u2014 mostly given remotely \u2014 to Western lawmakers. Support from allies has helped Ukraine mount a surprisingly stiff defense \u2014 and now the two sides are engaged in grinding battles.
\nThe Ukrainian leader arrived on a Royal Air Force plane in London on Wednesday. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greeted him on the tarmac, tweeting a photo of him embracing the Ukrainian leader.
\n\u201cThe United Kingdom was one of the first to come to Ukraine\u2019s aid. And today I\u2019m in London to personally thank the British people for their support,\u201d Zelenskyy said on Instagram.
\nA large convoy of vehicles left the airport and headed straight to Downing Street in central London. Both leaders posed briefly for photos in front of the famous black door that leads into the U.K. prime minister\u2019s residence. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON, 8 Feb: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for fighter jets to ensure his country\u2019s victory over Russia in a dramatic speech before the U.K. Parliament, where he also thanked the British people for their support since \u201cDay One\u201d of Moscow\u2019s invasion. The embattled leader\u2019s daring to visit Britain in a bid for more advanced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-210513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}