'We will fight to the end': Zelensky quotes Churchill in speech to U.K. Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received a standing ovation after he quoted Winston Churchill and William Shakespeare in a speech to the United Kingdom's House of Commons, CNN reports.

"We will fight to the end," Zelensky said through an interpreter. "We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight until the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost."

Zelensky has become an admired figure in Ukraine and around the world after he refused to flee the country when Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24. He has reportedly survived multiple assassination attempts since the invasion began.

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His words echoed a speech U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered on June 4, 1940, announcing the successful evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk and his government's refusal to seek peace with Nazi Germany.

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender," Churchill said.

According to CNN, Zelensky also thanked Prime Minister Boris Johnson for imposing sanctions on Russia, asked him to "strengthen the sanctions," and quoted William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. "To be or not to be," Zelensky said. "Thirteen days ago this question could have been asked about Ukraine, but now, absolutely not. It is obvious, we will be. It is obvious, we will be free."