Volodymyr Zelensky is like a modern day Winston Churchill, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says

VOLODYMYR Zelensky is like a modern day Winston Churchill, the Defence Secretary said last night.

Ben Wallace hailed the Ukrainian leader’s grit and heroism ahead of the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion on February 24.

He said Britain will stand by Kyiv until “they push the last Russian out” as we, too, know what it is like to have stood alone against a tyrant’s gunfire – during the Second World War.

Mr Wallace told The Sun on Sunday: “Zelensky is a man that knows there is no surrender.

“Zelensky, like Churchill, took a decision to fight, not appease.

“And Zelensky, like Churchill, knows what it’s like to be alone. And I think those are the three main things that make a strong similarity.”

He added: “Britain went through a period…in 1939 when large swathes of the political establishment wanted us to settle, compromise, appease Hitler. And Churchill said no we are not doing that.

“And I think Zelensky is in the same space. And the one country in Europe that understands that more than anyone else in Britain.

“We understand what it is like to be alone. We understand what it is like to be outgunned. And we understand what it is like to not play calculation.

“We support Ukraine not because we have some clever calculation that thinks they are definitely going to win or definitely going to lose. We support Ukraine because it is the right thing to do.

“We will be supporting them until they push the last Russian out of Ukrainian territory.”

Mr Wallace was speaking just days after Mr Zelensky went on a whirlwind tour of Britain and Europe to plead for fighter jets.

In a stirring address to politicians in Westminster Hall – the most ancient part of Parliament where Queen Elizabeth II lay in state last year – he said Ukraine already has freedom, but pleaded to “give us wings to protect it”.

Conjuring the spirit of Churchill in his speech, Mr Zelensky described sitting in Sir Winston’s old war room chair when he last visited Britain two and a half years ago.

Back then he said he felt something – but could not quite pinpoint what it was.

Now, he told MPs, he knew it was “how bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory”.

While Mr Zelensky has told how he is inspired by Churchill, here in Britain the Second World War leader is often vilified.

Leftie activists have defaced Sir Winston’s statue.

While Labour MP and ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell branded him a “villain”.

Does Mr Wallace think Brits should be prouder of Churchill?

“I think our country is very proud of Churchill”, he insisted.

“I think it’s just a few idiots who cannot recognise the freedom that they enjoy to be idiots is predominantly delivered by a decision by a prime minister, outnumbered, alone and often even unsupported by his own party.”

After Mr Zelensky’s impassioned appeal, PM Rishi Sunak sent Mr Wallace off to look at the possibility of

But the chances of us sending any soon seem remote.

The Defence Secretary has played down expectations – saying jets cannot be sent quickly and suggesting the war may even be over before it is viable to send them.

Comparing Britain’s fighter jets to going from an ordinary motor to a Formula One car, he added: “I think the reality is if you want to go on a car journey quickly, and you want a car outside the front of your house tomorrow to go and go on that journey, you are best taking a Ford Fiesta.”

Instead, the focus should be on providing missiles and refitting tanks that can be deployed immediately, he said.

We will also train Ukrainian pilots – along with many thousands of their other troops – so the country can protect its long term security against Russia.

As the world anxiously watches on as the first anniversary of the war approaches, some reports suggest Putin is amassing vast numbers of troops along the Ukraine border ahead of a fresh offensive.

Mr Wallace dismissed reports of mass troop mobilisations, saying “There is no indication of major buildups”.

But he warned it is possible the Kremlin will order a new, bloody assault to coincide with the anniversary.

Cautioning against frenzied speculation, he said Putin “doesn’t have a great deal left in his tank”.

“It is possible that Putin will try another turn of the handle on his meat grinder”, the Defence Sec said.

“But, unlike a year ago, the Ukrainians are now better equipped, better trained, much more experienced, and better able to inflict even greater damage on the deteriorating Russian army.”

The stakes could not be higher.

If Putin wins he will not stop at Ukraine, Mr Wallace warned.

This former KGB agent turned dictator has made no secret of his wish to recreate the Soviet Union’s iron grip on Eastern Europe by conquering vast swathes of the continent.

But Mr Wallace is resolute that this time, the Red Army tanks will not succeed.

“It ends in victory for Ukraine. What that is going to be is really for the Ukrainians to decide”, he said.

“I see no let up in the determination of the Ukrainians to fight for their mother country and their soil.”