{"id":5708,"date":"2022-03-01T17:58:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T16:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=5708"},"modified":"2022-03-01T18:00:15","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T17:00:15","slug":"l-attakk-russu-fuq-l-ukrajna-jimmarka-era-gdida-ghall-ewropa","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/l-attakk-russu-fuq-l-ukrajna-jimmarka-era-gdida-ghall-ewropa\/","title":{"rendered":"The Russian attack on Ukraine marks a new era for Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(Photo: European Parliament) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Debating Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, MEPs expressed unwavering support for Ukraine and for efforts to bring the country closer to the European community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the European Parliament held an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels to assess Russia\u2019s military assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Speaker of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke live from Kiev. European Council and Commission Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the EU\u2019s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, also participated in the debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening the debate, Parliament President Roberta Metsola<\/a> said: \u201cWe are here today in the dark shadow cast by Putin\u2019s war. A war we did not provoke. A war we did not start. An outrageous invasion of a sovereign, independent state. On behalf of the European Parliament, I condemn the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and express my solidarity with all those suffering and all those killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will stand up. We will not look away when those fighting in the streets for our values face down Putin\u2019s massive war machine. We will support the International Criminal Court\u2019s jurisdiction and investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. We will hold him accountable\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy calls on the EU to prove it stands with Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> said, \u201cin a break between missile strikes\u201d, that the Parliament and the EU\u2019s leaders must now \u201cprove that the EU is with Ukraine.\u201d \u201cI speak today on behalf of the citizens of Ukraine who are defending it by paying the ultimate price\u201d, he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Zelenskyy referred to the attack on Kharkiv, \u201cthe city with the largest square in the country, called \u2018Freedom Square\u2019\u201d. \u201cThis morning, two missiles hit this Freedom Square, with dozens killed. This is the price we are paying for our freedom. From now on, every square in every Ukrainian city will be called Freedom Square\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are fighting for our rights, our freedoms, our lives, and currently – for our survival. We are also fighting to be equal members of Europe. So now, prove that you are with us\u201d, he told MEPs. \u201cProve that you indeed are Europeans and then life will win over death, and light will win over darkness. Glory to Ukraine\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk<\/a> told MEPs: \u201cUkraine is defending the border of the civilised world, and if Ukraine falls, nobody knows where the Russians will stop\u201d. He insisted that the best way to support Ukraine \u201cis a real recognition of our European aspirations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis brutal, massive invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, unprovoked and is based on despicable lies, and it happens for one reason only: because in Maidan Square, you made the choice of freedom, democracy and rule of law,\u201d said European Council President Charles Michel, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion \u201cgeopolitical terrorism\u201d. He assured MEPs that the Council will analyse the \u201cserious, symbolic, political and, in my view, legitimate request\u201d by Ukraine to join the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong> said: \u201cThis is a moment of truth for Europe. This is a clash between the rule of law and the rule of the gun, between a rule-based order and naked aggression. We cannot take our security for granted, we have to invest in it\u201d. She underlined that \u201cif Putin was seeking to divide the EU, NATO and the international community, he has achieved the exact opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo make peace, we need to be two; but for war, it is enough with one, as Mr Putin has shown. That is why we need to increase our deterrence capacity a lot, in order to prevent war\u201d, said EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. \u201cDefending rule of law and strengthening trade relations will not be enough to turn the world into a peaceful place\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debating Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, MEPs expressed unwavering support for Ukraine and for efforts to bring the country closer to the European community. On Tuesday, the European Parliament held an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5709,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[260],"issuem_issue_categories":[8],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5708"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5712,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/5708\/revisions\/5712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=5708"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=5708"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=5708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}