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AAP
AAP
Politics
Ben McKay

Zelenskiy to address NZ parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address New Zealand's parliament next month. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will soon be able to add New Zealand to the list of parliaments he has addressed, after Wellington agreed to a request to do so.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government had agreed to the request from the Canberra-based Ukrainian Embassy which serves both countries.

"The ask has been made. Happy to accommodate that," she said, adding that it would be over to a parliamentary committee to find the time.

On Tuesday, Radio NZ broke the news that Mr Zelenskiy had been formally invited to address parliament.

AAP has been told the address is likely to be in the final week of the sitting year, which begins December 13.

Mr Zelenskiy would become only the second foreign leader to address parliament, and the first to do so virtually.

The only other head of government to be given the honour was then-Australian prime minister Julia Gillard in 2011.

Opposition Leader Chris Luxon said his party would support the address.

"If he has capacity and time to talk to the New Zealand parliament, that would be absolutely fantastic," he said.

"That war is illegal. It's immoral. It's completely wrong and we stand with our international partners."

Mr Zelenskiy has given Ms Ardern an invitation to visit Kyiv, which she is yet to take up.

Last weekend, Defence Minister Peeni Henare made a 10-hour trip to the Ukrainian capital in a show of support for the embattled country.

New Zealand has given tens of millions of dollars of aid in support of Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion, as well as donating military equipment and levying sanctions targeting Russian elites and trade.

Ms Ardern said New Zealand's contribution, while modest compared to other bigger nations, had been warmly received.

"They understand we're not a nation that has a large military arsenal waiting in the wings," she said.

"They have been very grateful for what we've done but also sought to draw on our strengths in reconstruction."

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