Zelensky’s defiant message: we will win with your help
THE MAN I met fewer than three years ago has changed beyond recognition. Instead of engaging in the niceties of friendship and trade over a cup of tea, he is appealing to the world to help him rid his country of an aggressor whose invasion has brutally taken innocent lives, destroyed families, homes and communities.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, was in town and on a mission. The suit was gone – replaced by military fatigues – and his message was simple: “We will win this war, but we need your help to do so.”
As Speaker of the House of Commons, I was privileged to share the stage in Westminster Hall – Parliament’s most ancient building – to hear his words, spoken forcefully in English, which gave them maximum impact.
Despite this vast, cavernous space filled with 2,000 MPS, peers and staff, when the President spoke, you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone was in awe of this brave man who had come to tell us about the suffering of his people and his country.
He was reminding us of a war that is nearly 12 months old. A war we cannot afford to lose. A war that is happening in Europe.
It is not just about Ukraine, he said. If Russia is not defeated, where will it stop? Who will be next?
As he was speaking, I could not help but marvel at how different the circumstances were from our first meeting – him as a new President, me as a new Speaker.
He was the first overseas head of state I met in the role, and war was the furthest from our minds.
The pandemic had made face-toface meetings difficult, so in the window that opened in October 2020 to receive important dignitaries, I took it with both hands.
While the rules meant we had to wear face masks, these did not diminish the twinkle in the President’s eyes or the warmth of his gestures.
We spoke about how we could build better relations, trade, how we could support each other. After all, large numbers of Ukrainians have settled in the UK over the
years since the Second World War, so the links run deep. It was a very pleasant and jolly occasion.
Little did I know how that very early meeting and our friendship would lead to where we are today.
Unlike that first visit, the current one was shrouded in secrecy. Very few people knew he was coming, so concerned were the security services for his safety.
It was the reason everyone had to stand in Westminster Hall – ordering more than a thousand chairs might have given the game away and prompted some unhelpful questions.
But, having to stand for an hour in a cold, draughty hall, was nothing compared to the hardship we know the Ukrainian people are going through and what they need to get through it.
One of the most moving parts of the President’s address was when he appealed to the world to supply his country with combat planes – and presented me with a pilot’s helmet. On it is written “We have
freedom – give us wings to protect it!” It was worn by “the ghost pilot” – so called, because the Russians could not catch him.
It was an emotional moment – I could see many of my colleagues were in tears. This was a gift from the front line, given by a man who never wanted war, but has risen to the challenge to become an iconic wartime leader.
When the President spoke, you could hear a pin drop
JUST LIKE the pilot who wore it, this helmet symbolises the bravery of President Zelensky and his determination to maintain the sovereignty of his nation and the freedom of his people. The House of Commons can at times be a difficult place to keep in order.
But in Westminster Hall, which boasts over a thousand years of history, President Zelensky created new history last week in front of a Parliament united in its admiration and it was a privilege to be there to observe it.