Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks from Kyiv on Monday night. (Press Office of the Ukrainian Presidential Press via AP) On the same day, Zelensky also spoke virtually to the Tweede Kamer, or lower house of the Dutch parliament, where he stressed the same downing of an aircraft that killed nearly 200 Dutch citizens. He also referred to the Nazi leveling of Rotterdam. The Dutch city of Rotterdam was destroyed by a German air raid during the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. (Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Speaking after speaking to world leaders, lawmakers and officials from Kyiv, Zelensky did not use candy to defend Ukraine in the midst of Russia’s brutal invasion, which has entered its sixth week. Instead, he uses intensely personal language in order to link the plight of Ukraine to the respective histories of the countries.

United Kingdom

Members of the British Parliament warmly applaud after Zelensky’s speech in the House of Commons via video link on March 8, 2022. (House of Commons / PA Images via Getty Images) In a speech to the British Parliament on March 8, Zelensky referred to wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he called on lawmakers to do more to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. “We will not give up and we will not lose,” he said. “We will fight to the end in the sea, in the air. We will fight for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the roads “. The speech was based on one of Churchill’s great speeches from World War II, in which he told Parliament in 1940: “We will go to the end, we will fight in France, we will fight in the seas and oceans.” The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk Beach in May 1940. (Picture Post / Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Poland

Addressing Polish leaders on March 11, Zelensky referred to a 2010 plane crash near an airport in western Russia that killed the Polish president and several other senior officials. “We remember the terrible tragedy of 2010 near Smolensk,” Zelensky said. “We remember all the facts of the investigation into the circumstances of this disaster. We feel what this means for you. And what does the silence of those who know all this mean to you “. The story goes on The wreckage of a Polish government plane in April 2010. The crash killed the Polish president and other officials. (Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP via Getty Images) Russia’s handling of the wreckage and relics of the victims then widened the gap between the two nations, with many suggesting that Russia was directly responsible for the crash despite official reports from both nations accusing it of pilot error. . About 2 million Ukrainian refugees crossed the border into Poland from the Russian invasion a month ago – a huge population transfer in such a short time.

Canada

In a March 15 speech in Canada, Zelensky repeatedly referred to Prime Minister Justin Trinto by his first name and tried to portray a Russian attack there. “Justin, imagine you hear it,” Zelensky said. “And your children hear it. Hear rocket fire at Ottawa airport. Dozens of other places throughout your beautiful country, Canada. Cruise missiles. Even before dawn. And your children hug you and ask you “What happened, Dad?” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trindade, in the center, applauds with members of Parliament after Zelensky’s virtual speech on March 15. (Adrian Wyld / Pool / AFP via Getty Images) Zelensky asked leaders to imagine the Russian artillery firing on Edmonton, blockading Vancouver and firing on a power plant in Ontario. “The famous CN Tower in Toronto: How many Russian missiles will be enough to destroy it?” Zelensky asked, referring to one of Canada’s most important landmarks. “Believe me, I do not wish it on all of you, but we anticipate every day how many more rockets can hit the towers of our television.”

United States

Zelensky speaks to the US Congress via video to ask for support. March 16, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite, pool / AP) In a speech to a joint congressional hearing on March 16, Zelensky referred to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and called on the US military to impose a no-fly zone over his country. “I have a dream. These words are familiar to each of you today. I can say that I am in need. I must protect our sky. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same thing, you feel the same when you hear “The words ‘I have a dream,’” he said. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd at the March in Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. (CNP / Getty Images) The Ukrainian leader also mentioned two of the worst attacks on American soil: Pearl Harbor and 9/11. “Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes that attacked you. “Just remember, remember 9/11, a terrible day in 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked,” Zelensky said. “As no one else expected, you could not stop it. “Our country is experiencing the same thing every day right now.”

Germany

In a speech to the German parliament on March 17, Zelensky referred to President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to “demolish” this building. Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to demolish the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987. (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images) The Ukrainian president called on Germany not to let a new wall divide Europe. “It is not a Berlin Wall,” Zelensky said. “It’s a wall in Central Europe between freedom and slavery, and this wall grows with each bombing. [dropped on Ukraine]. » He then echoed Reagan in an appeal to German Chancellor Olaf Solz. “Chancellor Soltz, tear down this wall,” Zelensky said.

Israel

Speaking in the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, on March 20, Zelensky begged lawmakers for more help, linking the war in Ukraine to World War II and the Holocaust. Unlike most of the countries it has spoken to, Israel has sought to remain neutral in the Ukraine war. Protesters gather in Tel Aviv to watch Zelensky’s televised speech to the Knesset of Israel on March 20, 2022. (Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images) “I want you to feel it all,” said Zelensky, who is one of the few Jewish leaders on the world stage. “I want you to think about this date. About Feb. 24 About the beginning of this invasion. Russian invasion of Ukraine. February 24 – this day is twice in history. Both times as a tragedy. “A tragedy for the Ukrainians, for the Jews, for Europe, for the world.” “On February 24, 1920, the National Socialist Workers’ Party of Germany was founded,” he continued. “A party that took millions of lives. It destroyed entire countries. He tried to kill nations. “102 years later, on February 24, a criminal order was issued to launch a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.” Black smoke rises from a military airport near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on February 24. (Aris Messinas / AFP via Getty Images) “The Ukrainians made their choice,” Zelensky concluded, asking why his nation had not received more weapons from Israel and why no tougher sanctions were imposed on Russia. “Eighty years ago, they saved Jews. That is why the righteous among the nations are among us. “People of Israel, now you have such a choice.”

Italy

On March 22, Zelensky spoke to lawmakers in Italy, where he likened Russian progress to that of the Nazis, saying: “The last to do so in Europe were the Nazis when they invaded other countries. Russian troops have even mined the sea near our ports. “And now it threatens the neighboring coasts and neighboring countries, because the mines can be carried by sea to them.” Rudolf Hess, a member of Hitler’s Nazi cabinet, inspects the Guard of Honor in Rome on October 29, 1939. (Keystone / Getty Images) He also called on Italians to target the assets of Russian oligarchs, who often vacation in the Mediterranean nation. The Scheherazade, a Tuscan-controlled superyacht, has been linked to Putin himself. Zelensky urged Italy not to become a “resort for murderers”. “You know those who brought the war to Ukraine,” he said. “You know for sure. Those who order to fight. And those who promote it. Almost everyone uses Italy as a vacation spot. So do not be a resort for killers. Exclude all properties, bills and yachts – from Scheherazade to smaller ones. Foreclosure of the assets of all those who have influence in Russia. “Let them exercise their influence for peace, so that they may return to you one day.”

Japan

Members of the Japanese lower house applaud as Zelensky delivers a fictitious speech on March 23, 2022. (Behrouz Mehri, pool / AP) In his speech to the Japanese parliament on March 23, Zelensky referred to the destruction of Fukushima in 2011 and the chemical attack in 1995 on the country’s subways. “Imagine a nuclear plant where a catastrophe happened,” he said, referring to the collapse of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He warned that a Russian invasion could cause a similar nuclear disaster at Chernobyl – not unlike the one at the same facility in 1986. (Ukrainian officials said on Thursday that most Russian forces had left Chernobyl.) A television station at Seoul Railway Station shows the collapse of Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 following a massive earthquake on March 12, 2011. (Park Ji-Hwan / AFP via Getty Images) The Ukrainian leader also referred to the possible use by Russia of sarin nerve gas in Ukraine. In 1995, members of a Japanese cult used …