Zelensky gives Churchillian address to MPs as UK announces Russian oil ban

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked British war leader Sir Winston Churchill in an emotional address to MPs, vowing to fight invading Russian troops in the air, sea and on the streets.

In a speech to the House of Commons that was greeted before and after by standing ovations, Mr Zelensky repeated his call for a no-fly zone to be established by the West, begging for the UK to “make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe”.

The historic address came shortly after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced the UK will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year as part of a ratcheting up of sanctions on Moscow for the attack, which was launched on February 24.

Elsewhere, there has been frustration at the slow progress in processing Ukrainian refugees, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace offering military support to the Home Office to help deal with the backlog of people trying to get into the UK.

During his address to the Commons, Mr Zelensky – who is said to have to keep his whereabouts a secret due to the threat of assassination in Kyiv – appealed to MPs by quoting from Shakespeare and paraphrasing Churchill.

In a nod to one of the former British prime minister’s most inspiring speeches of the war, Mr Zelensky said: “We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.

“We will fight in the forest, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.”

He also pressed home the desire of Ukrainians for their independence to continue, despite their homeland being under attack by Kremlin forces, with a line from Hamlet.

“The question for us now is to be or not to be,” he said, in a translation by Parliament TV.

“Oh no, this Shakespearean question. For 13 days this question could have been asked but now I can give you a definitive answer. It’s definitely yes, to be.”

The embattled president said Ukraine faced a similar dilemma to the one Britain encountered in the Second World War.

He said the current conflict, in which he said 50 children had been killed, was akin to when Britain “didn’t want to lose your country when the Nazis started to fight your country and you had to fight”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who received a personal thanks from Mr Zelensky for his support, told the Commons after the speech that “never before in all our centuries of our parliamentary democracy has the House listened to such an address”.

“In a great European capital now within range of Russian guns, President Volodymyr Zelensky is standing firm for democracy and for freedom,” Mr Johnson said.

Before the speech, the UK and the US jointly announced they would be banning the import of Russian oil and related products by 2023 as the allies looked to pile further economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the nine-month delay until impact meant the fuel sector and other firms would have “more than enough time to replace Russian imports”.

With 8% of UK oil demand coming from Russia, the Cabinet minister urged businesses to “use this year to ensure a smooth transition so that consumers will not be affected”, with support given to find alternative supplies.

No UK petrol demand comes from Russia, nor heating or fuel oil, according to the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (Dukes) 2020.

However, 18% of total demand for diesel and 5% of jet fuel comes from Russia.

Beis officials said the ban, with the import of Russian oil making up almost half of Russian exports and 17% of federal government revenue through taxation, would “choke off a valuable source of income” for the Kremlin.

Speaking in Washington, President Joe Biden said the US joining in with the phased oil prohibition would be a “powerful blow” to the war being raged by Mr Putin.

But he warned Americans that the sanction would have ripple effects at home, telling them that “defending freedom is going to cost” after Brent crude rose 7% to 131.95 dollars per barrel on Tuesday after media reports surfaced about the ban.

A year ago, Brent was trading at around 61 dollars per barrel.

The Prime Minister suggested that diesel prices could be set to rise further in Britain after the announcement, with prices at the forecourts already having soared following Moscow’s attack on Kyiv, but predicted the decision “won’t affect” domestic businesses.

Mr Johnson said the UK was “less exposed” than some European nations when it came to restricting Russian oil, with the European Union importing more than a quarter of its oil from Moscow.

During talks at Lancaster House, Downing Street said Mr Johnson and his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala agreed to work with European allies to ensure Russia can “no longer control energy supplies”, in a sign of a further push to come on blocking the Kremlin’s oil sales.

The Prime Minister met with Mr Fiala as part of discussions with the Visegrad group of countries, which also includes Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.

The V4 have received some of the most refugees since the conflict in Ukraine broke out, but the UK Government has faced flak, including from Conservative MPs, for the lack of visas it has so far handed out to those fleeing.

Home Office minister Kevin Foster said in the Commons that the figure for visas issued had risen to more than 500 – up from 300 on Monday night – while a new processing centre at Lille is expected to be set up within the next 24 hours.

The Prime Minister, speaking after his leaders meeting, said the numbers of refugees being accepted could run into the “hundreds of thousands” via what he called a “very generous programme”.

Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it is now a criminal offence for any Russian planes to enter UK airspace, after a ban was previously announced.

Mr Shapps wrote to airports saying he can order them to detain Russian aircraft and has the power to order the Civil Aviation Authority to terminate registration of planes owned by sanctioned individuals.

“We will suffocate Putin’s cronies’ ability to continue living as normal while thousands of innocent people die,” he tweeted.