The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, speak to MEPs in person during a formal sitting in the Strasbourg hemicycle.

EU - Ukraine (T)

plenary session

troubles in Ukraine (T)

formal sitting

solidarity with Ukraine (T)

STEFANTCHOUK, Rouslan

Ukraine's application for EU membership (T)

Formal sitting: Address by Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)

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SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), On the 1st of March of 2022, in the first phase of the large scale aggression against Ukraine committed by Russia, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky, I had an opportunity to address the European Parliament. I very well remember those moments because I was choking in with emotions in my throat because the most horrible and most large scale war started in Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), The same emotions I am having now, but due to different reasons, because today I am standing among friends and I have for the first time over the last 105 days, have a chance to address the European Parliament openly, and I have this feeling of support of the entire Ukraine. Therefore, I sincerely thank you each and every one of you. Thank you for being with Ukraine. I thank you sincerely for your trust in Ukraine. And thank you very much that Ukraine is Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), In the first days of the war, we were all shocked because nobody believed and we didn't believe that in the middle of the 21st century, in the middle of Europe, a brutal, undeclared and horrible war can be started. And I understand the entire world was shocked and befuddled. But we started acting, we started with the most important things, we started getting united. We were uniting at the level of the state, at the level of the people, at the level of levels of power.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And we understood and realized that the most important thing today is to preserve Ukraine, to do everything possible to make sure Ukraine perseveres and we wanted to unite the entire civilized world around Ukraine. Because we're aware that this was not just the war against Ukraine, that was the war against the values, against the principles, against the foundations of the world order. And therefore, we are standing as one for 105 days defending both Ukraine and the entire civilized world.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), On the 1st of March, the European Parliament has decidedly condemned the actions of the Russian Federation. The European Parliament has always been a powerful voice of the entire European Community and perhaps one of the highest moral authorities that exists on the European continent today.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), I would like to thank on behalf of each and every Ukrainian that you were the first one who declared its powerful voice in such a consolidated manner in support of Ukraine. You were with us from the very first day. We all remember that the president, Roberta Metsola, it was she when Kiev was still besieged and when the enemy forces were in Irpin and Bucha, in Hostomel and Borodianka. She arrived in Ukraine and addressed the Ukrainian parliament from the very heart of Kiev.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And therefore, Mrs. President, I would like to thank you once again for your courage, for what you did then. We had powerful words of support of Ukraine from you. When you spoke about hope, you called upon the entire world to act, and you quoted the words of a great Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko. You addressed the parliament with the words "fight and you will win". Mrs. President, we are fighting and we will win, and we'll do it together.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Now, about what Ukraine had to face over the last 105 days, in addition to the enemy aggression, in addition to numerous missiles that are flying and landing on the heads of ordinary Ukrainians and a huge number of those killed, and wounded, and maimed. We are seeing that the Russian Federation is continuing to move this war way beyond the Ukrainian borders, and they're doing it through what they normally do: through their lies.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), The Kremlin is talking about "the liberation", quote unquote, of people of the Donbas. At the same time, they annihilate they wipe out the biggest city in the Donbas, Mariupol. Russia is saying that they're defending the Christian values. At the same time, they actually burned down a Sviatohirsk church. They are claiming that they are trying to prevent the world food crisis at the same time they steal grains on the occupied territories.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), What is Ukraine doing to counteract it? Ukraine is counteracting it with belief and truth. We're talking about war crimes. We're talking about the genocide of the Ukrainian people. We're saying that Ukrainians are being killed now only because simply they are Ukrainians, and the army is killing them. The army that does not respect any laws and any conventions of war, we have to be all aware of that.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), But we are going to speak this truth, and we're going to speak about the responsibility, about the responsibility before history, before humankind, before the responsibility, before the future. And this responsibility should occur. And I thank you for the initiative, I thank many countries for the initiatives the countries represented in the European Parliament that initiated the International Criminal Court investigation against the Russian Federation.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And we would like to have this just verdict. We'd like those who are to blame, who are guilty in this criminal war, that they are punished and they would rebuild at their cost what they damaged. This is a fundamental principle of our unity, it's a fundamental principle.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And that justice will happen undoubtedly, because it is we what want, we the countries that stand in favor of the world order. But we have to understand also that today in Ukraine. We have more than 14 million people that had to be displaced within Ukraine. 8 million of them became internally displaced people. And 6 million of Ukrainians are outside of Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And I would like to use this opportunity to thank all your countries who opened not only the doors of their homes, but also their hearts for all Ukrainians. I sincerely thank all of your great people. I thank the entire 500 million people of the European Union who accepted Ukrainians and enabled their survival under these difficult conditions. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Dear colleagues, the important question is: what's going to happen next? I am not going to conceal the fact that my mission now, traveling around many European countries and talking to European parliaments, including the European Parliament, is to convince each and every one of you that Ukraine is worthy of being granted the candidate status for the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), We're clearly aware that this is just a candidate status. We guarantee that we, having received this impetus for this political message, are prepared to work further, but are prepared to move quickly and qualitatively, as we did when we were filling in the survey for the candidacy status for the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), But it's a very important impetus for us, the Ukrainian people. It's very important for the Ukrainian people to hear this powerful message from Europe. The message, the essence of which is, that what you are doing is not in vain and we see your fighting.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), And therefore, friends, if on the 24th of June we're not going to get this message, then this will be the message that Putin will get. And he will clearly understand that he can be totally going forward without any punishment. Therefore, I'm asking you: let's do everything possible that on the 24th of June we'll see a watershed day, an important day for us and our joint great victory.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), We also ask you to exert additional impact on the Russian Federation. First and foremost, the sanctions, it's very difficult to stop the war that we are sponsoring. I would like to thank you for supporting all sanction packages. But if the war is continuing, then perhaps more has to be done so that the war could become unbearable for Putin, impossible for Putin, so he could stop because they would not have funds to fund his war.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), I understand, sometimes it becomes a burden, huge burden for your budgets of your countries. But do believe me that, otherwise, if we don't do that, the price of defeat is going to be way, way bigger. And we have to do everything possible to stop this war economically as well.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Dear friends, I would like to address you as a parliamentarian to parliamentarians. You are the representatives of a 500 million strong, great European nations. You represent different parties, various parties. You represent Europe. I appeal to you with a request. Ukraine is ready and prepared to stand on guard for our common values, common principles, common prospects. Because Ukrainians today are fighting for them on the battlefield.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Therefore, I'm asking you, let's do everything together so that this new history that Ukraine is writing with blood we would add a very simple addition written with the pen that Ukraine is a candidate for the European Union. Dear friends, I sincerely believe that the European Union would approve this historic decision in favor of this unity, in favor of this solidarity, in favor of the fact that we see our future similarly and see our values similarly.

SOUNDBITE (Ukranian), Ruslan STEFANCHUK, Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Dear colleagues, our unity is the motivation for us. Our unity is the push for them, that we are united and we will always be united. Dear colleagues, only unity today could be the guarantee of our joint peace, common peace. I'm really grateful to you, to your people. I'm very grateful to all who fight together with Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine and glory to united great Europe.