Ukrainian President, Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, addresses MEPs in a formal sitting in Brussels. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

EU - Ukraine (T)

Brussels

statement

plenary session

troubles in Ukraine (T)

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

formal sitting

solidarity with Ukraine (T)

ZELENSKYY, Volodymyr (UA)

Ukraine's application for EU membership (T)

consequences of the war in Ukraine (T)

Visit of Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine to the European Parliament - Formal Sitting: Address by Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Glory to Ukraine. Dear Mrs President, dear Roberta, I thank you for these powerful words. And I thank you for your personal attention. Very important attention to Ukraine. Thank you for your and your principled and energetic approach to qualities that we see unchanged during this struggle for Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, And the combination of those is a precondition for progress. Europe is lucky that in this plenary, in the European Parliament, prints a principled approach and energised approach. Have an absolute majority, enjoy an absolute majority. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Dear Representatives of Europe. Dear leaders of Europe. All of us Europeans. Each and every with hundreds of millions of people in our continent. Combine these two statuses. Representatives of Europe and leaders of Europe. This combination reflects what our Europe, modern Europe, peaceful Europe gives to the world.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, European way of life. European life standard European rules of life. When each and every one have a matter. When the rule of law, when states strive to be social, and societies strive to be open. When a diversity is of value and the values of different people are united by fair equality when borders are not violated.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, And when you don't feel that you cross borders, when people trust and have faith in tomorrow and are ready to go to squares to fight for their tomorrow, when between protesters and the president, there is only one barrier, and that is honest elections. This is our Europe. These are rules. This is our way of life. And for Ukraine, we it's a way home, a way to it's home.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Now. I am here in order to defend our people's way home of all Ukrainians, of all ages and various political convictions, a various social status, a various religious convictions and different histories. But all of us enjoy this common European history. Ukrainian European way of life they tried to annihilated through total war.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Why? Because after the Ukraine European way of life, they want to destroy the European way as such. Out of all 27 elements of the European way of life, of 27 countries of the European Union, we will not allow that. This total war now that was waged by Russia and it is not only for the territory, for a territory and this is part of Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, The threat of it is that there is a dictator with massive supplies and reserves of Soviet weapons and weapons from dictatorial regimes, Iran in particular. In order to be able to fight like this, the Kremlin cynically and deliberately, year after year, step after step, was trying to eliminate and destroy what we see as our value in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, The value of human lives has been destroyed in Russia for the authorities there, nobody is of value apart from those who are in the Kremlin and have their own wallets at heart. 140 million of Russian citizens for the leaders of Russia are just bodies that are capable of carrying weapons to Russia. The weapons that would be on the battlefield and to keep everybody in obedience so they could become the supremacy of violence and obedience. These are the rules, instead of law.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, The Russian regime not only hates any social justice and diversity, they invest in xenophobia and trying to make it part of normality on our continent and trying to make the inhumane realities of the thirties and the forties, the 20th century a reality of today. But this is the answer to that for us is no, no, Europe. We are defending from the anti European force of the modern world. We are defending ourselves, we Ukrainians on the battlefield, together with you.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, And I thank you that we are defending it together and we must defend ourselves. And it's important not only for these States of Europe, not only for the communities and societies in Europe. No matter who we are and what we are, we always fight against disrespect or and neglect. Wherever we live we always put our faith in integrity forever for whatever we dream for our children and grandchildren. And the precondition for these dreams is peace and security.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, That is going to be and whether it's going to be possible, if we do not overcome the anti European force that is trying to steal from all of us, our Europe. No, only our victory will guarantee all that each of our European values, our victory that should happen, that would be mandatory.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Dear leaders of Europe, Dear President, Ladies and gentlemen, dear Members of European Parliament, Dear Workers of the European Parliament here and other the European institutions here. Dear journalists, dear Security service workers, dear Military and Army personnel, Policemen, rescue workers, dear workers and municipalities, Diplomats, teachers, professors, Scientists.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Dear doctors, drivers, dear workers of Seaports, Farmers. Dear Industries, dear workers at the Industrial Enterprise. Dear business owners, small and big businesses. Dear workers at banks, dear energy workers and electricity grids to workers. Dear Trade union workers. Dear students and representatives of NGOs, dear producers and actors, Lawyers, defence lawyers, Human rights Defenders.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, The Destiny of Europe, the Fate of Europe has never depended on politicians, and that should not be the illusions. Now each and every one of us matter. Each and every one of you are strong. Each and every one of you is capable to impact and influence our common result, our common victory. And and these applause are not directed to and at me. For these applause I'd like to thank all of you in Europe, in hundreds of towns and villages who supported Ukraine in this historic battle.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Thank you. I would like to thank you to all of you, who has been helping our people, our no ordinary citizens, our resettled people here who called on their leaders to increase and enhance their support to protect our ordinary people, those who were on the squares. Who were raising questions, who was spreading truth about the Russian aggression. Who was not tempted to consume the Russian disinformation, and who is standing by us in our fight for life for Europe. I thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, I thank all of you, who helps Ukraine with vitally important supplies, weapons and ammunition and energy equipment and fuel, thousands of things and items that we wouldn't be able to endure in this total war. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and Members of the European Parliament. And to you personally, Roberta, that you with your decisions, defend the European way of life without a steadfastly that you defend the Ukrainian European way of life.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, You approve courageous decisions and you strengthen the European ambition to be a home for justice and freedom. And I recall the first day of large scale invasion when the Russian ambition to break us and entire Europe was still adamant and it was still when the Russian aggression was beginning to break their tooth against fighting our defence. On this sixth day of the large scale invasion, European Parliament approved the resolution not simply to support our State, but to approve the status of the candidate for the European Union Membership for our country.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, That was the vision that motivates, motivated us to be strong and to stay the course. Thank you. Today, during the meeting of the Council of European Council, I will be able to thank personally the Heads of State and the governmenst for the decisions that over the course of last year allowed our continents to do what the previous wave of leaders considered impossible.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Europe at last, is relieving itself of the ruinous dependence on the Russian fossil fuels. Europe is cleansing itself of the corruption, influence of the Russian oligarchic business. Europe is defending itself from the infiltration of the agents of Russians secret services, who were looking at Europe as the hunting field for the opponents of the Russian regime. For the first time in its history, the European Union is providing the military assistance at such large scale.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, And I see such a positive assessment of reforms and the European country that is fighting, defending itself and is modernising and reforming its institutions at the same time. We are approaching the European Union. Ukraine is going to be a Member of the European Union. The European Union that is winning.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, Dear friends, perhaps some of you didn't feel earlier the power bof the European way of life. And now together, Ukraine and the European Union countries, have made our strength of this. Why is it possible? Because we combined a principled and energetic approach. We are all equal in representing Europe and integrity. We know that everybody is a leader of Europe in their specific lives. We are not going back in front of the enemy we are defending. So we're not losing time.

SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian), Volodymyr ZELENSKYY, President of Ukraine, We're changing ourselves and we are changing things. Europe will always be and remain Europe as long as we're together, as long as we take care of our Europe, as we take care of the European way of life. I thank all of you. I invite all of you to Ukraine, glory to all Ukrainians and who fight and glory to Ukraine. Thank you so much.