Zelensky greeted with standing ovation, cheers at EU Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated to a hero’s welcome when he appeared before the European Parliament to plead for his country’s accession to the European Union.

As the wartime leader entered the Parliament hall in Brussels in his trademark dark sweatshirt, he was greeted with a rapturous standing ovation by European Union lawmakers, many of them waving Ukrainian flags, who cheered and hooted.

When Zelensky later rose to speak following opening remarks by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, he received a second standing ovation from the enthusiastic crowd.

Zelensky opened his address by exclaiming, “Slava Ukraini,” which means “Glory to Ukraine,” and the EU parliamentarians responded without missing a beat, “Heroyam Slava” — “Glory to the heroes” — as part of a call-and-response that has become familiar worldwide since the start of the war in Feb. 24.

Zelensky had traveled to Belgium as part of a whirlwind European tour — only his second trip outside Ukraine since the start of the invasion — which included stops in London and Paris to meet with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The trip came as Russia stepped up its attacks in eastern Ukraine and was massing forces and military equipment in preparation for an anticipated offensive ahead of the first anniversary of the war.

Zelensky is in a race against time to secure additional military assistance for his country, including fighter jets, which Western allies so far have been reluctant to provide for fear of further escalating the conflict and potentially being dragged into a direct confrontation with Russia.

In his address to the European Parliament, Zelensky drove home the message that Ukraine’s struggle against Russia was one fought for the freedom of Europe as a whole.

“A Ukraine that is winning is going to be member of the European Union,” Zelensky said to applause, building his speech around the common destiny that Ukraine and the 27-nation bloc face in confronting Russia head-on.

“Europe will always be, and remain Europe as long as we … take care of the European way of life,” he said.

Zelensky added that Russia wants to destroy the European way of life, but “we will not allow that.”

He held up an EU flag after his address and the entire legislature stood in somber silence as the Ukrainian national anthem and the European anthem “Ode to Joy” were played one after the other.

Before Zelensky spoke, Metsola said allies should consider “quickly, as a next step, providing long-range systems” and warplanes to Ukraine. Metsola said the response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine “must be proportional to the threat, and the threat is existential.”

Addressing Zelensky directly, Metsola told him that “we have your back. We were with you then, we are with you now, we will be with you for as long as it takes.”

During a subsequent news conference, Zelensky let it slip that he had heard from several unnamed EU leaders that they were ready to supply fighter jets to Kyiv.

“Europe will be with us until our victory. I’ve heard it from a number of European leaders … about the readiness to give us the necessary weapons and support, including the aircraft,” Zelensky said.

“I have a number of bilaterals now, we are going to raise the issue of the fighter jets and other aircraft,” he added.

Moments earlier, Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, posted on social media that the question of long-range weaponry and fighter jets for Ukraine had been resolved and details would follow. He later edited the post to say the issue “may be resolved.”

The mood around the question of warplanes for Ukraine appeared to have begun to change Wednesday, when British PM Sunak pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced NATO fighter jets. He stopped short of offering to supply the aircraft, but said nothing was off the table.

Russia responded by warning that it would be Ukrainians who suffered if Britain or other Western countries supplied fighter jets to Kyiv, and that the line between indirect and direct Western involvement in the war was disappearing.

Such actions “lead to an escalation of tension, prolong the conflict and make the conflict more and more painful for Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

With Post wires