ATHENS — President Zelensky’s groundbreaking speech to Britain’s House of Commons Tuesday night will be remembered as a watershed moment in post-Cold War relations between the West and an ostracized, increasingly alienated Russia. 

The embattled leader’s eloquent address — delivered via a video link from Kiev — marked the first time in history that the leader of a foreign country addressed MPs in the hallowed chamber. At its conclusion, the members of Parliament rose to their feet in a standing ovation.  

“We will not give up and we will not lose. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost,” Mr. Zelensky vowed. 

He thanked the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, specifically for his efforts in helping Ukraine to beat back the Russian advance and, with a deliberate nod to Winston Churchill, said, “We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.” 

He might have modified his tense — because all of that is already happening — but it all served to underscore the sense of urgency as civilian casualties continue to mount and the war approaches the two-week mark. Mr. Zelensky also appealed for both a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which doesn’t look very likely, and for even more sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime, which is already happening. Away from Westminster, President Biden has announced a ban on imports of Russian oil to America.

Without diminishing its significance, even such a rousing address is a blip on the radar next to the ferocious, ongoing Russian assault on Ukrainian cities and amid the swirl of intrigue around negotiations between the two sides far away from the cameras.  

The Jerusalem Post and the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported today that, according to sources privy to details about Prime Minister Bennett’s lightning trip to Moscow over the weekend, the negotiations are much more serious than what the West has been saying — and that Mr. Zelensky now faces a tough dilemma. No readouts of the meeting between Mr. Bennett and President Putin were given, but citing insiders, the Jerusalem Post says Russia has already made a final offer to end the war and Mr. Zelensky must choose whether to accept it. 

As if to underscore the weight now ostensibly on Mr. Zelesky’s shoulders, it is said that Mr. Putin “ordered his forces to halt — and the command for a ceasefire to be enacted was given — in order to wait for Zelensky’s decision.” So, what is the deal? Essentially, as the sources cited have it, “assumptions are that he will be forced to give up the contested Donbas region, officially recognize the pro-Russian dissidents in Ukraine, pledge that Ukraine will not join NATO, shrink his army, and declare neutrality.” 

What if he says nyet? 

“The outcome may be terrible,” according to the article, which specifies that “thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainians will die and there is a high probability that his country will completely lose its independence.”

If true, this could mean the real reason behind the stalled Russian advance on Kiev is not one of logistics but rather to give Mr. Zelensky some time — albeit not much — to decide what he’ll do. 

The real negotiations, though, according to the sources cited, “are happening directly between Russia and Ukraine and are much more serious than what the West has been saying. Kyiv has not shared with the West what has been going on in the negotiations since they do not want to dampen the worldwide sense of emergency” — such as that broadcast to the globe by way of the House of Commons tonight.

The story of Mr. Putin’s purported offer was picked up by Britain’s Sky News, which said that while the report could not be immediately verified, it “could clearly be of huge significance.” The broadcaster also gave a subtle dig to the Israeli government, saying that Jerusalem “has had a close alliance with the Putin regime,” which is not true; in fact, like hundreds of countries, Israel maintains relations with the Russian Federation. 

Clearly the pressure is on, and not just for Mr. Zelensky, who is said to be “torn” over the proposal. Mounting Russian casualties put increased pressure on Mr. Putin to deliver results, too. 

The director of the CIA, William Burns, estimated today that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began. At least two prominent Russian generals, including one decorated for service in contested Crimea, have also met their demise in Russia’s ongoing battle for control of the country. 

While all eyes are on Kiev, with reports flying of an imminent, decisive strike on Ukraine’s already badly bruised capital city, CNN reports that Russian forces’ sustained shelling, artillery strikes, and air raids on residential districts at Kharkiv “has left the key northeastern city devastated,” though not yet in Russian hands.

At least 27 civilians were killed in attacks by Russian forces there in the past 24 hours alone, a  Ukrainian regional police official, Serhiy Bolvinov, said in a social media post that also noted, he BBC reports, that 170 people have been killed across the Kharkiv region since the start of Russia’s invasion, including five children. Mariuopol, the major industrial Black Sea port, is a city on the brink of complete destruction  after days of unrelenting Russian bombardment, with up to 200,000 residents trying to safely evacuate with heavy crossfire posing an ongoing lethal risk.

There is movement at sea, too. An estimated 30 Russian warships are on the prowl off the shore of Odessa, Ukraine’s most strategic port. With its deep links to Russian history, Odessa would surely be the jewel in the crown of Ukrainian war prizes for Mr. Putin. 

Underscoring the global implications of this war, Greek daily Kathimerini reports that America and France will be conducting joint drills off the western coast of Greece, with the Harry S. Truman and Charles de Gaulle aircraft carriers to conduct exercises with units of the Hellenic navy and air force. Russian warships such as the Admiral Kasatonov frigate and the Admiral Tributs destroyer, and possibly others, are reportedly now in waters south of the islands of Crete or Cyprus.