Zelenskyy seeks to place Ukraine at home in the EU – POLITICO

Ukraine is fighting off Russian invaders to preserve the European “way of life,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy proclaimed Thursday in Brussels, making an impassioned case for his country to join the EU.

“I’m here in order to defend our people’s way home,” the Ukrainian president said from the lectern in the European Parliament, speaking to hundreds of EU lawmakers and top officials.

And that way home, he said, is the EU.

“This is our Europe, these are our rules, this is our way of life, and for Ukraine, it’s a way home, a way to home,” he said. 

It was Zelenskyy’s first in-person address in Brussels since Russia’s invasion last year, part of a trip meant to cement Ukraine’s bond with the EU. Kyiv is hoping to join the EU in record time, as well as convince EU countries to pledge not only modern tanks but also fighter jets as Russia prepares a renewed offensive.

Zelenskyy’s speech leaned heavily on the theme that Ukraine and the EU are interlinked, sharing both values, a history — and a future. 

“Ukraine is going to be a member of the European Union,” he predicted.