Zelensky's wartime address to Congress comes 81 years after Churchill did the same

A ruthless war had consumed Europe, with neighbours trading bombs and bullets for what felt like an eternity. In the midst of the conflict, one celebrated leader made a dangerous journey across the Atlantic to appeal directly to the United States' most powerful leaders.

It was December 1941, when Winston Churchill stood before the US Congress and delivered a 30-minute speech that would go down in history as one of the most important visits to Washington by a foreign leader.

Eighty-one years later, nearly to the day, Congress welcomed yet another high-profile wartime leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has endured 10 months of bombardment from Russia. As he prepares to take the podium in Washington, the history of Mr Churchill's own decisive address looms large over the proceedings.

"Another historic leader addresses the Congress in a time of war," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted on Wednesday, "with Democracy itself on the line."

World War Two had already elevated Mr Churchill to a global household name, synonymous with Britain's determined efforts to fend off Nazi Germany.

When he arrived in Washington in December 1941, the conflict had just arrived on America's doorstep. Less than three weeks prior, Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt had declared war on the country, marking the US's belated entry into the WW2.

His presence in Washington caused a flurry of excitement. He held a press conference with Mr Roosevelt and even participated in the lighting of the national Christmas tree. "Americans have caught on to one of Winston Churchill's major characteristics - his ability to thrill a crowd," The Washington Post reported.

But the marquee event was his 26 December 1941 speech to Congress, which took place in a US Senate chamber overflowing with lawmakers, cabinet officials, and dignitaries (Ms Pelosi's father, Representative Thomas D'Alesandro Jr, was serving in Congress at the time).

After a hearty welcome, Mr Churchill took the dais, whipped out his spectacles, and began one of the most important speeches of his career. The prime minister offered words of flattery and friendship to the United States, invoking the strong relationship and cultural similarities between the two global powers. But he soon moved on to more sombre subjects.

"You do not, I am certain, underrate the severity of the ordeal to which you and we have still to be subjected," Mr. Churchill said. "The forces ranged against us are enormous. They are bitter, they are ruthless."

He proceeded to paint a harsh picture of the Axis powers.

"The wicked men and their factions, who have launched their peoples on the path of war and conquest, know that they will be called to terrible account if they cannot beat down by force of arms the peoples they have assailed. They will stop at nothing," Mr. Churchill said. "They have a vast accumulation of war weapons of all kinds. They have highly trained and disciplined armies, navies and air services. They have plans and designs which have long been contrived and matured. They will stop at nothing that violence or treachery can suggest."

While he warned a "time of tribulation was upon us," he sought to project optimism that the Allies, now with the help of the United States, could turn their fortunes around in the coming three years.

Of their Axis enemies, Mr Churchill declared that "they do not realise that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget." He had to pause his speech, due to raucous applause.

"Here we are together," Churchill said, "Defending all that to free men is dear."

The prime minister's speech received rapturous coverage the next day. "CONGRESS THRILLED," declared the New York Times, which described "wild bursts of enthusiasm and chuckles of mirth" from the audience.

Eight decades later, Mr Zelensky's surprise visit to Washington has generated a similar flurry of coverage and anticipation. In echoes of Mr Churchill's own itinerary, he first met with President Joe Biden before making his way across town to the US Capitol.

Like Mr Churchill, Mr Zelensky's relentless public presence throughout Ukraine's war with Russia has made him a hero to those supporting his country's cause. In a March video address to Congress in the early days of Russia's attack, Mr Zelensky brought lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to tears.

He also hopes to cement a similar tone of unity with the US, but this time in a bitterly divided Washington. Mr Zelensky faces a far more divided Congress than perhaps Mr Churchill encountered, and growing opposition from some Republicans to the United States' significant military and financial support to Ukraine.

The stakes could not be higher for Mr Zelensky as he's expected to ask for even more as the war with Russia drags on through a brutal winter. With history serving as his guide, however, Wednesday's speech may yet prove to be a pivotal moment in the conflict.