President Zelenskyy says Russia is a grave threat to the European way of life

Opening the session, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said to President Zelenskyy: “We understand that you are fighting not only for your values, but for ours.”

“Ukraine is Europe and your nation’s future is in the European Union”, President Metsola continued, adding that the EU should give Ukraine the “fastest possible accession process” and, “as a next step, provide the long-range systems and the jets needed to protect the liberty too many have taken for granted.”

In his address to MEPs, President Zelenskyy stressed how Russia is trying to annihilate not only sovereign Ukraine, but also the European “way of life”. He outlined how he sees Europe as a continent steeped in rules, values, equality and fairness, and (…) a place where Ukraine is firmly at home. The Kremlin, on the other hand, is doing its utmost to destroy European values, President Zelenskyy said, stressing how Ukraine is fighting for and protecting Europe from this anti-European force.

Standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes

He thanked all Europeans who have supported Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invader and all those who have helped Ukrainian refugees arriving in the EU. Looking ahead, President Zelenskyy called on Europe and Ukraine to walk together and define a common European future. However, he underlined that, for our dreams for our children and grandchildren to come true, we need peace and security. These dreams will not be possible if we do not overcome this anti-European force trying to steal our Europe from us, he concluded.

This was President Zelenskyy’s first official visit to the European Parliament, after having addressed MEPs remotely during an extraordinary session on 1 March 2022, shortly after Russia started its war against Ukraine. He also spoke before plenary on 14 December the same year, when Parliament’s 2022 Sakharov Prize was awarded to the brave people of Ukraine.

More information: European Parliament

Zelenski at the Extraordinary European Council of February 9, 2023

At the start of the summit, EU leaders held an exchange of views with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Russia’s war of aggression and the European Union’s support to Ukraine and its people.

This was the first European summit that President Zelenskyy attended in person since the outbreak of Russia’s war in February 2022. This summit also took place one week after the 24th EU-Ukraine summit, held in Kyiv, Ukraine.

More information: European Council