Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for fighter jets and missiles before European Union leaders and lawmakers in Brussels, Belgium Thursday to defend his country and the continent against “the most anti-European force of the modern world.”
“We are defending against the most anti-European force of the modern world — we are defending ourselves, we Ukrainians on the battlefield, along with you,” Zelensky told members of the EU parliament.
Zelensky earned applause and cheers from the lawmakers during his speech in his only second foreign trip since Russia invaded and occupied eastern Ukraine nearly one year ago.
Parliamentary speaker Roberta Metsola, reflecting the warm response of other senior EU officials, declared: “Ukraine is Europe and your nation’s future is in the European Union, Agence France-Presse reports.
“States must consider, quickly, as a next step, providing long-range systems and the jets you need to protect the liberty too many have taken for granted,” she said.
In Moscow, the Kremlin warned of the “growing engagement of Germany, United Kingdom, and France in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
“The actions of these countries lead to an escalation of tensions… make this conflict more painful… and these actions will not change the objectives of our country within the framework of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
WITH AFP