Remarks by President Charles Michel at the extraordinary debate at the European Parliament on Russian aggression against Ukraine
Five days ago, Vladimir Putin launched a brutal, massive invasion of Ukraine. An unjustified and unprovoked war based on despicable lies. And he did it for one reason only. Because in Maidan, you, dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and you, dear people of Ukraine, you made the choice of freedom, democracy and rule of law.
It is not only Ukraine that is under attack. International law, rules-based international order, democracy and human dignity are also under attack. This is geopolitical terrorism, pure and simple.
We must support Ukraine, and we are supporting Ukraine. We must protect peace. We must protect democracy and international law.
Read also
Our transatlantic alliance is strong, united and perfectly coordinated. We are also working closely with the members of the G7 and with the United Nations. And more and more countries are engaging in an anti-war coalition along with people from around the world, with one common message: Russia, stop the war. Go home. Let’s talk.
We are putting maximum pressure on Russia and its leaders. We are stepping up to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. I salute all of you, President Zelenskyy and the brave people of Ukraine, for your courage and composure. It is also our duty to rise to this historic moment.
We promised together that we would react quickly, that the consequences for Russia would be massive and severe, and our actions have matched our words. We have responded with massive and unprecedented sanctions. We imposed sanctions on political and military leaders, on oligarchs, on Vladimir Putin and on Sergei Lavrov. We are also taking powerful measures to severely restrict the use of the foreign currency reserve of the Russian Central Bank. We are excluding key Russian banks from the SWIFT system. We are also imposing severe sanctions on key sectors of Russia’s economy.