war against Ukraine
Selenskyj thanks the European Parliament for help
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech in front of the European Parliament in Brussels. photo
© Olivier Matthys/AP/dpa
With his surprising short trip to Europe, the Ukrainian President is asking for further military aid. The EU Parliament paid tribute to him with applause after an emotional speech in Brussels.
In an emotional speech in the European Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the EU citizens for their support in the fight against Russia. The 45-year-old said in Brussels on Thursday that the MEPs’ applause in the plenum was not aimed at himself, but at everyone in the towns and villages who supported Ukraine.
He thanked for the supply of weapons and ammunition, of fuel and energy, of all the thousands of things “we need in this brutal war”. He thanked Parliament for condemning the war soon after the invasion began and for advocating for Ukraine to become a candidate for EU membership. It is about defending the European-Ukrainian way of life, said Zelenskyj.
Further talks planned
The President of Ukraine still has further talks with the heads of state and government at the EU summit. The day before he was in Great Britain, where he also met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III. met. A meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also on the agenda in Paris that evening. It is only Selenskyj’s second trip abroad since the Russian invasion on February 24 last year. Zelenskyj traveled from Paris to Brussels with Macron.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stressed the importance of his visit to the EU summit. “The fact that he is here has a high symbolic value,” said Rutte in Brussels. “All of us are constantly in awe of what he, his team, the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian army, the military are doing against a huge country, Russia.” It is of central importance that Zelenskyj attends the EU summit and is a special moment.