Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quoted Britain's World War II leader Winston Churchill when addressing UK lawmakers via video link in the House of Commons. 

Ahead of his speech, lawmakers gave Zelenskyy a standing ovation. 

"We will not give up, and we will not lose," Zelenskyy said. "We will fight to the end in the sea, in the air. We will fight for our land, whatever the costs. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets," the Ukrainian President said. 

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The words chosen by Zelenskyy echo a well-known speech by Churchill, which was also delivered in the House of Commons in June 1940 as Nazi Germany threatened to invade Britain. 

For the first time, a president of another country has addressed the main Westminster chamber. Zelenskyy detailed the day-to-day experience of the war. He noted the civilian victims - including children, adding that the reported killing of a Russian general on Monday gave the nation hope. The general's killing has not been verified. 

The Ukrainian leader, an actor before he became a politician, also evoked the British playwright William Shakespeare, stating that the war has posed the question "To be or not to be?"

"I can give you a definitive answer: It's definitely to be," he added. 

Zelenskyy, who has spoken to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on several occasions since the conflict began, made several impassioned speeches to Western leaders in the last week, asking for supplies and military support.

In his address, he noted his disappointment that NATO, of which the UK is a leading member, has failed to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Doing so, NATO leaders argue, could lead to an all-out NATO-Russia war between two powers with extensive nuclear arsenals.

The Ukrainian implored the UK to do more. "Please increase the pressure of sanctions against this country (Russia) and please recognize this country as a terrorist state, and please make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe... Please make sure that you do what needs to be done." 

Former world leaders, including U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and Germany's Angela Merkel, have previously made speeches in other parts of the parliamentary estate on the banks of the River Thames, but Zelenskyy is now the first to address the main chamber.