Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to address MEPs marking 1000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On 19 Nov 2024 Tuesday at 11.00, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy will address MEPs from Ukraine in a special plenary session, observing 1000 days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will remark at the commencement of the extraordinary session, after which President Zelenskyy will speak to MEPs via live video link from Ukraine. Political group leaders will then follow.
Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to MEPs in a formal sitting in Brussels on the 9th of February 2023. In his address, President Zelenskyy highlighted how Russia is trying to destroy not only sovereign Ukraine but also the European “way of life”. He summarised how he sees Europe as a mainland steeped in rules, values, equality and justice, and (…) a place where Ukraine is firmly at home.
This was the first time that President Zelenskyy arrived at the European Parliament in person, after addressing MEPs remotely during an extraordinary summit on 1 March, shortly after Russia began its war against Ukraine, and on 14 December when Parliament’s 2022 Sakharov Prize was granted to the brave people of Ukraine.
How does the EU Parliament support Ukraine in its fight?
Since Russia undertook its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the EU and the Parliament have strongly defended the country by criticising Russia’s aggression, levying sanctions and stepping up its political, humanitarian, military and financial support to Kyiv.
EU Parliament has also been a passionate supporter of Ukraine’s actions to join the EU and has repeatedly called on EU member states to undertake accession talks. In addition, MEPs have firmly remarked that Russia must compensate financially for the devastation it has caused in Ukraine, claiming that the EU should make use of Moscow’s seized state-owned assets to facilitate this.
