Ukrainian ambassador to Britain Valerii Zaluzhnyi shared a post on X of a video of Ukrainian soldiers reciting the work Invictus by British poet, William Ernest Henley.

The soldiers each read a few lines from the famous work to mark World Poetry Day, which was on Friday March 21, and to highlight the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Zaluzhnyi wrote: “Ukrainian soldiers recite the poem Invictus by British poet William Ernest Henley as a gesture of gratitude to the United Kingdom for its unwavering support.

“This powerful poem stands as a timeless symbol of resilience, dignity, and inner strength in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.”

The poem reads:

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul.