Dear Mrs President, dear Roberta!
I thank you for these powerful words and thank you for your personal attention — significant attention for Ukraine. Thank you for yours and for your principledness, energy — 2 qualities that we always see during the current struggle for Europe and the combination of which is always a prerequisite for progress. Europe is lucky that in this hall, in the largest parliament of Europe, in the European Parliament, principles and energy have an absolute majority. I thank you.
Dear representatives of Europe! Dear leaders of Europe!
All of us Europeans, each and every one of the hundreds of millions of people on our continent, combine these 2 statuses — representatives of Europe and leaders of Europe. This combination reflects what our Europe, modern Europe, peaceful Europe, gives to the world. The European way of life. European path. European rules of life. When each and everyone matters. When the law rules — the rule of law. When states strive to be social, and societies — open. When diversity is a value, and the values of different people are combined with fair equality. When the boundaries are inviolable, but their crossing is not felt. When people believe in tomorrow and are ready to go to the square to win their tomorrow. When there is only one barrier between the president and the protester, and that is fair elections.
This is our Europe. These are our rules. This is our way of life. And for Ukraine, it's the way home, the way to your home. Now I am here to protect the way home of our people. All Ukrainians, all Ukrainian women. Different ages and different political beliefs. Different social statuses, and different views on religion. Different personal histories, but one European history with all of you.
They (Russians — ed.) try to destroy the Ukrainian European way of life with total war. But for what? To destroy the European way as such after the Ukrainian European way of life. For each of all 27 elements of the European way of life. 27 countries of the European Union. We will not allow it.
This total war now, which was unleashed by Russia, is not only for the territory in one or another part of Europe. Its threat is not only that there is a dictator with an insane stockpile of Soviet weapons and fueled by weapons from other dictatorships, in particular from the Iranian regime. In order to be able to wage this war, the Kremlin has consistently, step by step, year after year destroyed what we see as the basis of our Europe with you.
The sacred value of human life was completely destroyed in Russia as well. There, no one matters to the authorities, except for those inside the Kremlin walls, their relatives and "wallets". All others for them, for the Kremlin, all 140 million citizens are just bodies capable of carrying weapons: weapons to Ukraine, weapons on the battlefield, keeping others in submission or being in submission themselves. The supremacy of violence and obedience — that's rules instead of law. The Russian regime not only hates anything, any sociality and any diversity, but also deliberately invests in xenophobia and tries to make part of the normality of our continent all that inhumanity that happened in the 1930s and 1940s.
But is it forever? And this is a question for all of us. The answer is no! No! Europe! We are defending ourselves against the most anti-European force in the modern world. We defend ourselves. We, Ukrainians, are on the battlefield with you. I thank you for protecting us together! And we must defend ourselves!
And this is important not only for European countries. Not only for European communities. No matter who we are, we always fight against contempt. No matter where we live, we always bet on good faith. No matter what you and I dream about for our children, for our grandchildren, the unconditional background for these dreams of ours is peace — peace and security.
Will all this be possible if we do not overcome the anti-European force that seeks to steal Europe from you and us, from all of us? No. Only our victory will guarantee all this each of our common European values with you. Our mandatory victory!
Dear representatives of Europe! Dear leaders of Europe! Dear ladies and gentlemen, deputies! Dear employees of the European Parliament and other European institutions! Dear journalists! Dear employees of the security services, military, police, rescuers! Dear employees of municipalities! Diplomats! Teachers! Professors! Scientists! Dear doctors, drivers and port workers! Farmers! Dear industrialists and workers of industrial enterprises! Business owners — small and large, banks! Dear energy workers and railway workers! Dear students, schoolchildren! Trade union activists, representatives of public organizations! Dear directors and artists! Lawyers, judges, ecologists, human rights defenders!
The fate of Europe has never depended on politicians alone. There should be no such illusion now. Each and every one of you is important. Each and every one of you is strong. Each and every one of you can influence our joint result. To our common victory.
These applauses are definitely not for me. These applauses are for gratitude: I want to thank you all in Europe, in hundreds of cities and towns, who supported Ukraine in this historic struggle. Thank you!
I want to thank you — everyone who helped our people, our ordinary people, our immigrants. Who called on their leaders to increase support; support for the protection of these ordinary people of ours. Who came out on the square, who asked questions, and who spread the truth about Russian aggression. Who resisted the temptations of Russian disinformation and who is next to us in the fight for life. In the fight for Europe. I thank you!
I thank everyone who helps Ukraine with vital supplies. Weapons and ammunition. Energy equipment and fuel. Thousands of things without which you cannot survive in this total war.
I thank you, dear members of Parliament, and I thank you personally once again, Roberta, for the fact that you consistently defend the European way of life with your decisions. You always protect the Ukrainian European way of life. You made bold decisions and strengthened the European ambition to be the home of justice and freedom.
I remember the first days of the full-scale invasion, when the Russian ambition to break us and all of Europe was still audacious. When Russian aggression was just beginning to break its teeth against our defence. Already then, on March 1, on the 6th day of the full-scale war, the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting not just our country, but the status of a candidate for joining the European Union for our country. It was the vision that motivated us to be resilient and stay the course. Thank you.
Today, at the meeting of the European Council, I will have the opportunity to personally thank the heads of states and governments of Europe, whose decisions this year really enabled our continent to do what the previous wave of leaders thought was impossible. Europe is finally breaking free from its destructive dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Europe is being cleansed of the corrupting influence of Russian oligarchic business. Europe is protecting itself from the infiltration of agents of the Russian special services, who considered Europe even as a place for hunting opponents of the Russian dictatorship.
For the first time in its history, the European Union provides military aid of this scale. And for the first time in history, I believe, he is preparing a positive assessment of internal reforms in a European country that is defending itself in this total war and at the same time modernizing its institutions while fighting.
We are getting closer to the European Union. Ukraine will be a member of the European Union! Ukraine is winning! A member of the European Union — a winning European Union!
Dear friends! Maybe before, some people did not feel the full power of the European way — the European way of life. And now, together, Ukraine and the EU countries, we have made our power obvious. Why is this possible? Because we combine principles and energy. We are all equal in representing Europe and conscientious in that everyone is the leader of Europe in their particular lives.
We do not rely on words — we act. We do not pass before the enemy — we stand. We don't waste time — we change and we change. Europe will always remain free. As long as we are together and as long as we take care of our Europe! We care about the European way of life. I thank you all! I invite all of you to Ukraine! Glory to all Ukrainian men and women who are in the battle! Glory to Ukraine!
