As it happened: Ukraine's first lady addresses MPs in UK Parliament

Before her speech to UK MPs, Olena Zelenska joined Camilla, the Queen Consort, at a reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.

The event at Buckingham Palace was attended by 300 guests and was part of the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

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The Belarus opposition has said Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova, who was in prison in the country, is now in hospital in intensive care.

Kolesnikova was the only leading opposition figure to stay in the country during the 2020 street protests against Alexander Lukashenko.

She was sentenced to 11 years in jail in 2021 in a politically-motivated trial. The cause for her hospitalisation is not clear.

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Jens Stoltenberg has finished his news conference, where he took a number of questions from journalists in Bucharest.

Let's recap some of the key points:

• The Nato general secretary reaffirms remarks he made earlier about Russia trying to weaponise winter in Ukraine
• He says "Russia is using brutal missile and drone attacks to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter"
• Stoltenberg vows that Nato will not back down and will support Ukraine for as long as it takes
• Nato membership for Ukraine remains on the table
• The war will likely end at the negotiating table, Stoltenberg believes
• Nato says it will help Ukraine fix damaged energy infrastructure
• "This is about defending, it's about repairing and replacing their energy infrastructure and we are doing all things at the same time," he says.

On the topic of Black Sea security, Stoltenberg is asked whether Turkey pushing back on the issue is a problem for Nato.

Although Stoltenberg doesn't answer this point specifically, he says that strengthening security in the Black Sea region started back in 2014 after Russia's "illegal annexation of Crimea".

He says there is a greater presence on the ground and there is support by air power.

"Before and after the invasion we have significantly increased our presence," Stoltenberg adds.

"We also have made important decisions to have more earmarked troops."

Stoltenberg is asked when peace will be achieved in Ukraine.

"I think the main message is a lasting peace," he says.

The only way to achieve this is to ensure that the aggressor doesn't win, adding that weaponising winter against Ukrainians is "brutal warfare".

"What we do know is that most wars end at the negotiating table, most likely this will also end at the negotiating table," he says.

"It may sound like a paradox, but the reality is that the best way to achieve a lasting durable peace in Ukraine is to provide military support."

Stoltenberg is asked about the future of Ukraine's Nato membership aspirations.

Stoltenberg replies by saying that Nato's door remains open and invitations have also been sent out to North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden.

"On Ukraine, the main focus now is on providing urgently needed support to help them defend themselves and to repair destroyed infrastructure.

"We are meeting more frequently, having more substantive discussions and expanding our political partnership."

Turning now to questions from the media, the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale asks Stoltenberg about weaponry support for Ukraine, including the provision of air defence systems.

Stoltenberg says Nato is addressing a wide range of additional systems, with an "ongoing discussion" under way about providing Patriot air defence systems.

But it is about ensuring that current defence systems are functioning and effective, he says, adding that this can be done by providing spare parts, maintenance systems and ammunition.

Stoltenberg continues by saying Russia is trying to break the will of the brave Ukrainian people but the the first day of the meeting "is sending a strong message of Nato unity and sustained support for Ukraine".

Nato was not a party to the war, but will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, he says.

"We will not back down," he adds.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Stoltenberg begins his remarks by reaffirming Nato's pledge of promising more weapons to help Ukraine and to help fix its energy infrastructure.

Stoltenberg says the Ukrainian armed forces have made significant progress by liberating land and pushing back the Russian military.

He says: "Russia is using brutal missile and drone attacks to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter.

"Vladimir Putin is trying to weaponise winter."

We are about to hear from Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg.

As we've been mentioning all day, various foreign ministers are in Bucharest at a two-day Nato summit with members.

Stay with us as we bring you the press conference with the Nato secretary general.

EPACopyright: EPA

Out in a district of Kyiv earlier today, we were told that air raid alerts were sounding.

You can’t always hear the sirens in every part of the city but a colleague got a notification on her phone and we headed to the nearest shelter.

You could see others making their way to the local metro station, Kyiv’s underground train system now doubles up as a place of relative safety during missile strikes.

But there was no sense of panic. Here they’ve done this so many times before.

Perhaps that’s why you could also spot many staying right where they were in the street, perhaps reluctant to pack up their market stalls or interrupt their day with another dash down into the bowels of a metro station.

This could be why President Zelensky has been stressing that everyone must pay attention to the alerts.

Just last week people died in a residential area in the Kyiv region during the latest barrage of rocket attacks. Underground, we wait with others. The atmosphere is almost one of tedium.

After a few minutes, the all-clear came through and dozens of people tramped back upstairs and into the daylight, a routine part of life here in Kyiv.

Earlier, Stoltenberg accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin of using winter as a weapon of war.

He went on to speak of the importance of supporting Ukrainians during this time when they are being deprived of heat, water, electricity and light.

We are still expecting Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to take part in a news conference.

Stay with us as we bring you more details of what the Nato chief has to say.

Zelenska receives a standing ovation from those assembled at Westminster as her remarks conclude.

Earlier, as part of her address, she showed MPs and peers pictures displaying the impact of Russian strikes.

And she told of the discoveries made by Ukraine forces in areas recaptured from Russian control - including what she described as torture rooms and what she said was the systematic abuse of children and elderly people.

In Westminster, Olena Zelenska tells MPs the world community needs to unite, just as it did in January 1942, to support a special tribunal against Russia's aggression towards Ukraine.

"I'm asking you a small favour to become the world leader in the justice efforts," she says.

Justice is not just needed for Ukraine, but so that the world could lead its life not by the rule of force, she says.

"We need justice so that the world could survive," Zelenska adds.

More now from Jens Stoltenberg, who has said the message from the first day of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers is that the alliance will continue to support Ukraine.

"We will stand by Ukraine as long as it takes will not back down," he says.

"And we realise that it is extremely important that President Putin is not able to win in Ukraine.

"That will be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it will also make the world more dangerous and much more vulnerable. So it's in the security interest of Nato allies to support Ukraine."

Stoltenberg goes on to say that Nato allies have agreed they should work more closely with Ukraine because the support "is making a huge difference on the battlefield every day".

After Sir Lindsay's remarks, we're beginning to hear from Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska, who is addressing UK MPs.

She says Ukrainians are going through a terror similar to that experienced by the UK in World War Two, when Nazi Germany bombed cities in the blitz.

"Victory is not the only thing we need, we need justice," Zelenska says, adding she "came came to you for justice, because it will lead to the end of this war".

She goes on to say it would have been impossible for the people of bombed British cities to accept those responsible would not recieve justice.

The Ukrainian people affected by Russia's attacks deserve that same justice, Zelenska adds