President Zelensky says were giving away our best people to be treated as equals in powerful speech

President Volodymyr Zelensky today told European leaders Ukraine is “giving away its best people for a desire to be treated as equals” a day after signing a request to join the EU.

© REUTERS/Yves Herman President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, applauds after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's speech at the European Parliament special session to debate its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium March 1, 2022.

Speaking to the European Parliament via a video link, he called on member states to prove their loyalty to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

His powerful speech was met with a standing ovation from EU lawmakers, many of whom were dressed in #standwithUkraine T-shirts adorned with the Ukrainian flag, while others wore blue-and-yellow scarves or ribbons.

“The European Union is going to be much stronger with us, that’s for sure. Without you, Ukraine is going to be lonesome,” he said.

“Do prove that you are with us. Do prove that you will not let us go. Do prove that you are indeed Europeans and then life will win over death and light will win over darkness. Glory be to Ukraine.”

He continued: “My citizens are paying the ultimate price to defend freedom.

“I am very happy to sense this mood, that we have united today all of you in the European Union. But I did not know that this was the price we had to pay.

“Thousands of people killed, two revolutions, one war, and five days of full scale invasion by the Russian Federation.”

© AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky Damaged cars and a destroyed accommodation building are seen near a checkpoint in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian shelling pounded civilian targets in Ukraine's second-largest city Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital — tactics Ukraine's embattled president said were designed to force him into concessions in Europe's largest ground war in generations.

It comes after mass shelling hit the city of Kharkiv earlier today, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more.

The strikes arrived on the same day that peace talks began between delegates from Russia and Ukraine on the Belarusian border.

Reflecting on the tragic event, Zelensky said: “Today we are giving away our people to defend our values.

“Ukrainians are incredible and very often we like to say that we will win over everyone. I am very happy that you can see that.

“This morning was a very tragic one for us, two cruise missiles hit Kharkiv.

“More than twenty universities are there. Many Russians live there. The youth are bright and smart there, people would gather there for celebrations.

“The largest square in our country - Freedom Square - can you imagine this morning two cruise missiles hit it. This is the price of freedom that we are finding for our land and for our freedom.”

He added: “Every square in every city of our country will be called Freedom Square.”

According to a draft text to be voted on later today, EU lawmakers are set to call Russia a “rogue state” in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

It joins calls for the scope of sanctions to be broadened and “aimed at strategically weakening the Russian economy and industrial base, in particular the military-industrial complex.”