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. “We are hearing sirens every day identical to those British generations heard.” She also said that Ukrainian forces had discovered torture rooms in areas recaptured from Russian control.
Last month, Ukraine found the bodies of 63 civilians bearing signs of torture near the recently liberated city of Kherson. Russia has repeatedly denied committing atrocities in its invasion. But the BBC has spoken to two people who said they were held for more than a month in the “torture chambers” alluded to by Mrs Zelenska. Mr Putin has also accused Ukraine of committing war crimes against Russian soldiers. Mrs Zelenska told MPs that the UK should be “a world leader in justice efforts.” “Victory is not the only thing we need, we need justice,” she said. Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle, who introduced the first lady to the Commons, said Zelenska’s visit must “shock us awake again”.
The UK must avoid thinking the war is “going on in a far away land” and that it “does not affect us”, he said. “If Putin wins, other nations will be in his sights,” he added. As part of the trip, Mrs Zelenska has met Camilla, the Queen Consort, as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy. Earlier, Camilla greeted Mrs Zelenska at a reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls. Delivering a speech at the event, the Ukrainian first lady said many women had been raped by Russian soldiers.
“The youngest victim of rape is four and eldest is 85,” she said. The BBC has heard first-hand testimony and found evidence of Ukrainian women being raped by invading soldiers. On the BBC’s Today programme, the first lady also urged the British public to continue to support Ukraine. She said: “We do hope that the approaching season of Christmas doesn’t make you forget about our tragedy and get used to our suffering.”
