Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's address to the Ukrainian Parliament: 12 January 2024
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech at Ukraine's Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
Mr President, Mr Prime Minister, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members of the Rada鈥�
I come from the world鈥檚 oldest Parliament to address the world鈥檚 bravest.
And it is an honour to do so.
Every Parliamentarian serving in a democratically elected chamber treasures the ideal of freedom.
Your courage is defending it.聽
Even as the enemy came within 20 kilometres of this Chamber鈥�
鈥ith many of you personally targeted鈥�
鈥ou refused to be daunted.
You continued to sit and do your duty - as you have throughout this war.
Because this is where you express the sovereignty and independence鈥�
鈥or which your people are prepared to sacrifice everything.聽
This is where you are keeping alive the cause of democracy鈥�
鈥n defiance of the gravest threat we have faced this century.
So on behalf of Britain and all your allies:
Thank you.
Slava Ukraini.
President Zelensky, you are an inspiration, and, Volodymyr, I am proud to call you a friend.聽
President John F Kennedy said of the great Winston Churchill that he:
鈥淢obilised the English language and sent it into battle.鈥�
Volodymyr, you have done the same鈥�
鈥nd English isn鈥檛 even your first language!
No leader this century has done more to unite liberal democracies in the defence of our values.
Thank you.
Above all, let me pay tribute to the people of Ukraine.
I first came to Ukraine ten years ago, in the year of the Maidan protests.
I remember the sense of nervous hope鈥�
鈥s Ukraine looked towards a future as a sovereign European democracy.
And in each of my visits since this war began鈥�
鈥ven amidst all the rubble and destruction鈥�
鈥he people I鈥檝e met are more determined than ever to realise that dream.
皇冠体育app soldiers who even now fight to the last breath for every inch of ground.
皇冠体育app pilots making stunning blows against Russia鈥檚 Black Sea fleet.
皇冠体育app gunners beating impossible odds to defend your skies.
皇冠体育app engineers who defeated darkness during the most difficult winter in your history.
And the ordinary people of Ukraine, who have endured鈥�
鈥ore than anyone should ever have to bear.
Rockets and bombs deliberately aimed at homes and hospitals, shelters, and schools.
Torture, rape, children kidnapped.
You have met this depravity with bravery and defiance.聽
With your unique, unbreakable Ukrainian spirit.
And all of us in the free world, salute you.
We meet today at a difficult moment in the struggle for Ukraine鈥檚 freedom.
As always during conflict, there will be difficult moments.
But we must prepare for this to be a long war.
But I believe there is hope for us in the echoes of Britain鈥檚 own history.
If 1940 was our finest hour鈥�
鈥�.and Ukraine鈥檚 was two years ago as you resisted the Russian invasion鈥�
鈥hen perhaps today is more like 1942.
That was a point in the middle of the war鈥β�
鈥hen progress on the battlefield was hard鈥�
鈥he defence industry was under severe strain鈥�
鈥nd populations were becoming weary.
It must have been hard to see the light ahead.
But they stood firm.
And although they did not know it then鈥�
鈥or all the setbacks and difficulties that still lay before them鈥�
鈥hat was the moment the tide began to turn, and victory became assured.
I believe that the same will be true of this moment.
In the end, history tells us that democracies who endure will always prevail.聽
Putin cannot understand鈥�
鈥hat while you can kill individuals and destroy buildings鈥�
鈥o army can ever defeat the will of a free people.
And that is why Ukraine will win.
Think of what you have already achieved.
Putin believed he could subjugate Ukraine by force in a matter of weeks.
Instead, with every rocket he fires the Ukrainian people become ever more determined鈥�
鈥nd their sense of nationhood becomes stronger still.聽
Russia鈥檚 military vastly outnumbers Ukrainian forces.
Yet you have already regained half of the occupied territory.
You have held the East, reopened vital shipping lanes to help feed the world鈥�
鈥nd increasingly made Crimea a vulnerability for Russia, not a strength.
皇冠体育appse victories show: Russia can be beaten in its war of aggression.
It鈥檚 on track to lose nearly half a million men.
Putin has faced an attempted coup鈥�
鈥een indicted as an international war criminal鈥�
鈥� presides over an economy severely weakened by sanctions鈥�
鈥nd has succeeded in persuading countries across Europe鈥�
鈥o significantly increase their defence spending.
He is now reduced to begging Iran and North Korea for weapons鈥�
鈥nd desperately sacrificing hundreds of thousands more men鈥�
鈥n the hope that Ukraine will yield, or its friends might walk away.
Well, Ukraine will not yield.
And the United Kingdom will never walk away.聽
From the very beginning鈥�
鈥he British people spontaneously flew the Ukrainian flag 鈥� and I tell you that it flies still.
皇冠体育appy felt moved to show solidarity with people they鈥檝e never met鈥�
In a country most have never visited鈥�
Because of our shared faith in freedom, fairness and democracy.
We welcomed Ukrainian refugees with open hearts.
We trained tens of thousands of their Ukrainian comrades in arms.
we led the way in delivering鈥�
Helicopters, ships, tanks, and armoured vehicles鈥�
Air defences and electronic weapons systems鈥�
Planeloads of anti-tank missiles like the NLAWs and Javelins鈥�
Storm Shadows to reach behind enemy lines and defend against aggression in the Black Sea.
Humanitarian and economic support.
And the strongest set of sanctions ever to debilitate Russia鈥檚 economy.
I鈥檓 proud that we鈥檝e provided over 拢9bn of support so far.聽
But I want to go further still.
Today, President Zelensky and I agreed a new partnership between our two countries鈥�
鈥esigned to last a hundred years or more.聽
Our partnership is about defence and security.
It is about the unique ties between our people and cultures.
It will build back a better and brighter future for Ukraine.
To attract new investment in jobs and homes鈥�
To fund English language training for the Ukrainian people鈥�
鈥s you make English the language of business and diplomacy.聽
And it will hold Russia accountable for their war crimes.聽
Because Russia must pay to rebuild what they have destroyed.聽
Perhaps above all, it will support Ukraine to complete the historic journey you have chosen鈥�
鈥o becoming a free, independent democracy at the heart of Europe.聽
Ours is the unbreakable alliance:聽
皇冠体育app nezlamni allianz.
First, we will help you win the war.
Russia thinks聽that they will outlast us; that our resolve is faltering.
It is not.
In each of the last two years, we sent you 拢2.3bn of military aid.
This year, we are going to increase that鈥�
鈥ith the biggest single defence package so far鈥�
鈥orth 拢2.5bn.
This package will include:
More air defence equipment, more anti-tank weapons, more long-range missiles鈥�
Thousands of rounds more ammunition and artillery shells鈥�
And training for thousands more soldiers鈥�
Now in total, the UK will have provided almost 拢12bn of aid to Ukraine.
So be in no doubt:
We are not walking away.
Putin will never outlast us.
We are here for Ukraine 鈥揳s long as it takes.
But the best way to make sure Ukraine has the weapons it needs鈥�
鈥s to help Ukraine to produce those weapons themselves.
So our second action is to work with you to massively increase defence industrial production.
I believe this will be a source of huge economic strength and value for Ukraine in the future.
So even as the UK donates more equipment鈥�
鈥e will help make you the armoury of the free world.
British companies like BAE Systems and AMS are already supporting your armed forces from within Ukraine.
And we will go further.
Starting today with 拢200m to manufacture thousands of new drones鈥�
鈥oth here in Ukraine and in the UK.
This is the single largest package of drones given to Ukraine by any nation.
Thirdly, today鈥檚 agreement supports your historic choice to join NATO.
Because I believe that Ukraine鈥檚 rightful place is in NATO.
But this isn鈥檛 just about how NATO benefits Ukraine.
It鈥檚 about how Ukraine benefits NATO.聽
Your understanding of modern war comes not from a textbook but the battlefield.
Your armed forces are experienced, innovative, and brave.
Ukraine belongs in NATO and NATO will be stronger with Ukraine.
Last year鈥檚 Vilnius Summit made important steps towards membership.聽
And I want us to be even more ambitious at the Washington Summit this June.
And we made you a solemn promise鈥�
鈥long with 30 other countries鈥�
鈥o provide new, bilateral security assurances.
Today, the UK is the first to deliver on that promise.
President Zelensky and I have just signed a new security agreement.
If Russia ever again invades Ukraine, the UK will come to your aid with swift and sustained security assistance.聽
We will provide modern equipment across land, sea, and sky鈥�
Sanction Russia鈥檚 economy鈥�
And work closely with allies to do so.
You will not have to ask.
You will not have to argue for what you need.
皇冠体育app UK will be there from the first moment to the last.
I believe this is the greatest moment in the history of our relationship.
With unprecedented security guarantees鈥�
鈥t defines our future as allies, working together for the security of Europe鈥�
鈥nd sitting side by side among the free countries of the world.
In the words of the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko鈥�
鈥ou have broken your heavy chains and joined鈥�
皇冠体育app family of the free
Because in the end, this is about even more than security.
It is about Ukraine鈥檚 right as an independent nation to determine your own future.
And it is about the right of all nations 鈥� enshrined in the UN Charter - to determine their own future.
As Churchill said, there are two kinds of nationalism:
鈥溁使谔逵齛pp craze for supreme domination by weight or force鈥� 鈥� which he called 鈥渁 danger and a vice鈥�.
Or the nationalism that comes from 鈥渓ove of country and readiness to die for country鈥�
鈥ove of tradition and culture鈥�
鈥nd the gradual building up鈥f a social entity dignified by nationhood鈥�.
He called this: 鈥渢he first of virtues鈥�.
I can think of no better description of the two sides of this war.
Or a better description of the battle that will define our age.
Because while this war may have begun in the deluded mind鈥�
鈥f a man in thrall to the mirage of a long-dead empire鈥�
鈥f Putin wins in Ukraine, he will not stop here.
That鈥檚 why President Biden, the EU, allies in NATO, the G7 and beyond鈥�
鈥ave seen the century-defining importance of this fight and they have rallied to your cause.
And we cannot 鈥� and will not - falter now.
Because aid to Ukraine is an investment in our own collective security.
Only a Ukrainian victory will deter Putin from attacking others in the future鈥�
鈥nd prove our enemies wrong鈥�
鈥hen they say that democracies have neither the patience nor resources for long wars.
This is the choice before us.
皇冠体育appse are the stakes.
Waver now 鈥� and we embolden not just Putin, but his allies in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere.
Or rally to Ukraine鈥檚 side and defend our common cause鈥�
鈥f democracy over dictatorship, freedom over tyranny, the rule of law over anarchy.
That is what you are fighting for.
And to echo Churchill:
We must give you the tools 鈥� and I know that you will finish the job.
Let me conclude with this final thought.聽
On one of the earliest days of the invasion鈥�
In the darkness just before the dawn鈥�
As Russian bombs fell on Kyiv鈥�
President Zelensky stood outside the House with Chimaeras鈥�
鈥nd sent a simple, defiant message to the world:
Miy tut.
We are here.
Today, as the world asks will your allies waver鈥�
Will our resolve weaken鈥�
Will our belief in your success falter鈥�
My reply is the same:
Miy tut.
We are here.
As a symbol of our聽nezlamni allianz鈥�
鈥 bring you today the United Kingdom鈥檚 flag鈥�
鈥igned by our country鈥檚 entire Cabinet鈥�
鈥o stand here until the day of your victory and beyond鈥�
鈥s a sign to the world that we are here鈥�
鈥nd we will always be with you.聽
Miy tut.
Slava Ukraini.