Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a standing ovation after his address at the European Parliament from leaders around the world for his courage and bravery to stand up and fight against the Russian invasion and not running away from his responsibilities as the President of a country.
EU member Michael Bloss shared the moment on Twitter. "Standing ovation for @ZelenskyyUa, President of Ukraine from the whole of the European Parliament," she wrote.
"We #StandWithUkraine️ to defend democracy, human rights and peace."
Addressing the EU parliament in an emergency session through a video conference on Tuesday, Zelenskyy vowed that "nobody will break us" as Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv and a massive Russian military convoy massed on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv.
"We're fighting for our land & our freedom despite the fact that all our cities are now blocked. Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians," he said.
On the sixth day of the war, Russian troops pushed deeper into Ukrainian territory, advancing on the capital and setting up checkpoints outside some towns and cities.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was shelled and bombed Tuesday morning, killing at least 10 people, while at least 20 were injured, according to a Ukrainian official.
Addressing his people in a Facebook video message, Zelenskiy said: "This is terror against the city, this is terror against Kharkiv, terror against Ukraine. There was no military target on the square."
"The rocket to the central square is outright, undisguised terror. No one will forgive. Nobody will forget. This strike on Kharkiv is a war crime," he added.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported that Zelenskyy will speak at the parliament after 11:00 GMT.
"The @Europarl_EN #EPlenary meets at 12:30 to discuss Russian invasion of Ukraine. President @ZelenskyyUa & Speaker @r_stefanchuk will join & speak to the world," Metsola tweeted.
The meeting was also attended by President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The European Parliament members are discussing the EU responses to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including EU sanctions agreed at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on 24 February.
(with agency inputs)
