Amid applause and ovations, Zelensky speaks in Paris before the National Assembly: “Europe is no longer a continent of peace”

“Europe is no longer a continent of peace” because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this Friday before French deputies, calling his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a “common enemy” of his country and Europe.

Zelensky took the opportunity to thank French President Emmanuel Macron “for being on our side to defend life.”

Calling him “Emmanuel” in his speech, Zelensky thanked the French leader for “not having abandoned Ukraine at a decisive moment.”

The Ukrainian warned that 80 years after the Normandy Landings, Russia’s invasion of his country brought “Nazism back to Europe.”

During a speech in the French Parliament, Zelensky expressed his hope that the international peace summit on June 15 and 16 in Switzerland could bring Ukraine “closer to the end of the war.”

«I am grateful for everything they are doing, which is a lot. But for a just peace, more must be done,” he insisted.

“It is in Ukraine where the key to Europe’s security lies,” he said. “Without controlling Ukraine, Russia will have to be a normal national state and not a colonial empire in constant search of new territories in Europe, Asia and Africa,” she said.

In a 20-minute speech in the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, Zelensky drew parallels between the sacrifices made during the Second War and his country’s struggle.

“This battle is a crossroads,” he said. “A moment in which we can write history as we need to. Or we can become victims of a story that suits… our enemy.

Zelensky, who spoke in Ukrainian, was frequently interrupted by applause and cheers from lawmakers. He received a standing ovation when he said, in French: “Dear France, thank you for standing by our side as we defend life.”

More than a hundred countries and organizations were invited to the conference on peace in Ukraine, which will take place in Lucerne, but not Russia.

In April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov considered that this conference “makes no sense” without his presence.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, which began at the end of February 2022, Russia was also not invited to the events organized in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings that helped liberate Europe from Nazi occupation, despite the high price that the Soviet Union paid in the final victory (27 million civilian and military deaths).

British King Charles III, US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Zelensky and about 200 veterans from allied countries did attend.

In his speech this Friday, Zelensky stated: “One day we will be able to see planes in the sky like in Normandy. Feel that Ukraine resists evil and united many peoples in France.

«French hearts have wished us courage and I thank the French families. We can count on your support, your weapons, your training,” continued the Ukrainian head of state. On the other hand, Zelensky ruled out that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, wins “this battle”, and that because “we have no right to lose it.”

«We – he added – can certainly win this battle. Ukraine and therefore Europe. Europe and, therefore, France.” Clarín.

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