Today, the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, was honoured with her presence at the annual meeting of the European Parliament, at which Ursula von der Lein sums up the year's results in plenary. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola personally met Olena Zelenska and greeted her.
"I am delighted to welcome the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to our European Parliament with a speech on the state of the European Union. It is also a very special honour to welcome Olena Zelenskaya here on this important day. Dear Olena, we are with you and your people," Roberta Metsola.
It is important to note that Ursula von der Leyen was wearing a yellow and blue ensemble with a Ukrainian ribbon on her chest, and Roberta Metsola also attached a yellow and blue ribbon to her jacket in honour of the Ukrainian guest.
During her speech, Ursula von der Leyen announced her plans to travel to Kyiv today and confirmed that the European Union will not stop on its path of supporting Ukraine before and after its victory.
"I want to make it clear that sanctions are not going anywhere. The time has come for us to show determination, not appeasement. The same applies to our financial support for Ukraine. Russia's financial sector is on life support. We have cut off three-quarters of the Russian banking sector from international markets. About a thousand international companies left the country. Automotive production fell by three quarters compared to last year. Aeroflot stops planes because there are no more spare parts. The Russian military is removing chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military equipment because they have run out of semiconductors. Russian industry is in ruins. It was the Kremlin that set the Russian economy on the path to oblivion. This is the price of Putin's path of death and destruction," the president of the European Commission.
Europe is full of determination and unity as never before.
