Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, demanded additional EU military assistance while stating to the European Parliament on Thursday that his nation’s troops engaged in combat with Russian forces “are defending you.”
We are defending ourselves, we Ukrainians in the battlefield, alongside you, against the strongest anti-European army of the contemporary era, Zelensky told MEPs.
A day after meeting the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London and having dinner with the leaders of France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz in Paris, Mr. Zelensky was in Brussels for a summit of the leaders of the 27 EU nations.
The main focus of his European visit has been procuring modern Western fighter jets, and he has succeeded in getting Britain to promise to train pilots to fly them.
While Mr. Zelensky is unlikely to return home with firm commitments to meet his demands, the trip afforded him the chance to discuss his concerns face-to-face with all of the EU’s state leaders.
Mr Josep Borrell, who chairs the EU summits, told reporters the EU would promise more military support for Ukraine, though he gave no details.
