Ukraine: Zelenska Tells MPs That UK Must 'Unite the World'

Olena Zelenska was introduced to the House of Commons by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle | PA MEDIA
BBC: Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has urged MPs to "unite the world community" and help end Ukraine's conflict with Russia.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mrs Zelenska compared Russia's bombardment of Ukrainian cities to Nazi Germany's bombing of the UK during World War Two.

"You did not surrender, and we will not surrender," she said.

The speech comes as Ukraine enters its ninth month of conflict with Vladimir Putin's forces.

Mrs Zelenska is visiting the UK to highlight the plight of the Ukrainian people, millions of whom face a harsh winter with regular power cuts both planned and unplanned.

Fierce fighting continues on both the southern and eastern fronts of the country.

As part of her address, Mrs Zelenska showed pictures that she said depicted the impact of Russian air strikes, which have caused blackouts in major cities, including in capital Kyiv, as well as Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.

The first lady said: "Your island survived the air raids that were identical to those Russia uses to put us on our knees. » | Jasmine Andersson, BBC News | Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Before Britain can even start to think of "uniting the world", it has to try and re-unite the disUnited Kingdom! The unity of the United Kingdom has taken a beating since Brexit. The UK did a swell job of trying to disunite the European Union too. I fear that before the UK has any hope of "uniting the world", it needs to re-enter the European Union; otherwise, Westminster will find that the UK could well break up. The United Kingdom is a very different cpuntry than it was during the Blitz of World War II. – © Mark Alexander

Olena Zelenska: We Will Endure

BBC: Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska tells the BBC that Ukraine will endure this coming winter despite the cold and the blackouts caused by Russian missiles, and will keep fighting what she describes as a war of world views, because "without victory there can be no peace".

We meet in a storied city where a winter's chill is biting, where charming street lamps are dimmed, where buildings are going dark and cold in the midst of blackouts as Russia keeps striking Ukraine's energy grid. The Ukrainian people have won plaudits for standing their ground against Russia's blistering assault. But this is yet another painful test of fortitude.

"We are ready to endure this," Olena Zelenska asserts when we sit down in a heavily secured compound tucked inside a sandbagged labyrinth of buildings in Kyiv.

"We've had so many terrible challenges, seen so many victims, so much destruction, that blackouts are not the worst thing to happen to us." She cites a recent poll where 90 % of Ukrainians said they were ready to live with electricity shortages for two to three years if they could see the prospect of joining the European Union.

That seems like an awfully long cold road, and she knows it. » | Lyse Doucet, Chief international correspondent | Friday, November 25, 2022

Exclusive Interview with Ukraine's Heroic First Lady | 60 Minutes Australia

In what's likely an indication he knows he's losing, last Wednesday Russian dictator Vladimir Putin drastically upped his rhetoric in the war he started against Ukraine. He announced he was mobilising three hundred thousand reservists to join the fight and threatened he was prepared to use nuclear weapons. Putin's desperate actions have been condemned around the world. For Ukrainians, despite being battered by seven months of fighting, their resolve to boot the Russian forces out remains as strong as ever. It's largely thanks to inspirational leader, President Volodymr Zelensky, but now we want to introduce you to his inspiration - his wife, the equally heroic First Lady Olena Zelenska.

Ukrainian First Lady: "Don't Get Used to Our Grief" | Amanpour and Company

Apr 13, 2022 • Christiane could not meet in person with Ukraine's First Lady for reasons of security. The responses of Olena Zelenska to a series of questions are voiced by a narrator in this exclusive conversation. Originally aired on April 12, 2022.