Zelensky just spoke to the EU Parliament.

[madaboutharry]

I broke down.

Speaking defiantly, he insisted that Ukraine will never give in to Putin. He outlined that Putin is waging a campaign of terror and is guilty of War Crimes. He explained that Ukrainians want to live in a western democracy and asked again that the EU expedite Ukraine's admission into the European Union.

It was a moment.

[SheilaAnn]

1. When I saw Parliament all rise to applaud him,I lost it.

[BigmanPigman]

6. That was the longest round of applause that I've ever heard.

[SergeStorms]

2. I watched on MSNBC.

The hosts and guests agreed, "how can you keep Ukraine out of the EU now?"

They suggested a fast track to admitting Ukraine into the EU, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who disagrees.

[secondwind]

3. It was very poignant and emotional, especially the

standing ovation, that went on and on. And on.

[jstnwill]

4. "And in that moment Vladimir Putin will have failed."

"I think what starts today is a real process for Ukraine to join the European Union. And in that moment Vladimir Putin will have failed. Whatever suffering comes after that, however many buildings get shattered by these bombs, he will have failed."

- David Ignatius today on MSNBC

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Ukraine will rebuild with help from EU. Putin will have to beg China for trade. Welcome to DU. . nt

[Irish_Dem]

9. They should use all the frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.

[Lonestarblue]

12. Yes. Putin and his oligarchs should never see that money again.

My fear is that Putin is like a cornered animal who will fight to the death, no matter the consequences. Surely there is someone—or a team of someones— in the Russian leadership who can remove him from power. He seems determined to smash Ukraine on his way out the door.

I know that NATO does not want war with Russia, but Putin will bring it to them eventually. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians will die. NATO has been asked by the leader of a sovereign country for help. Is that enough to start lending air support? The Russian convoy is a sitting duck at the moment.

[Irish_Dem]

15. Hitler's inner circle recognized he was insane and would destroy Germany.

Hitler was hell bent on fighting to the end, not willing to surrender to save some of Germany. Hitler's generals kept trying to kill him, but never succeeded.

I hope the Russian generals around Putin are more astute. Surely they realize that Russia would be greatly damaged in a nuclear confrontation?

Do the Russian generals who are the inner circle have more loyalty to Putin or to Russia? We know that those around Trump were totally loyal to him, and cared nothing for America or the American people.

The Russian generals may feel guilty as they have royally screwed up the invasion. What should have been a successful lightning strike is FUBAR. They will win in the end, but it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Yes a cornered narcissist and sociopath can be quite dangerous. But Putin has always been a high functioning sociopath who knew exactly how far he could go without the world coming down on him. If that piece of him is still intact, we should be fine. However if the rumors of Putin being on steroids are true, this changes his mental status. To a more dangerous, violent one.

[Eyeball_Kid]

30. An indication of his insanity is exactly what you describe.

Putin will likely behave like a cornered animal even though he's not defending Russia. He's destroying a nation of 44 million people BECAUSE HE CAN.

Whether he's batshit crazy or not is a discussion for academics, IMO. He needs to be removed from office permanently. He has no right to be a national or international leader. That's over.

And yes. I'm looking at the aerial photos of the big Russian convoy, and I'm thinking, if they can be photographed, they can be bombed into rubble. They are extraordinarily vulnerable, whether they get air support from Russia or not.

[niyad]

20. Welcome to our DU family.

[mahina]

33. Hi Jstnwill, welcome to DU.

Good post. Aloha.

[Casandia]

5. The translator was so emotional

Zelensky said the time for “paper” is over…. So many great things he said…but the one that brought me to tears was Everywhere is Freedom Square

[Pachamama]

8. I did too

We are all Ukrainians

[YoshidaYui]

14. This!

[Evolve Dammit]

10. Tears and intense anger. Such courage in the face of pure evil. My heart goes out to all affected.

So frustrating to not be able to help

[Laura PourMeADrink]

23. Me too. I can't watch anymore. Ukrainians getting slaughtered

And no one's doing anything to stop it. And we spend all this fucking $ to arm to the T. Not a political comment but a pure fact. One of the side things I've learned throughout this is how long it takes to do something. It didn't take ukrainians long to do anything. "Okay start making Molotov cocktails" , "okay check" and people are making them boom.

[FeelingBlue]

29. We can help.

https://www.globalempowermentmission.org/mission/ukraine-crisis/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/27/how-to-help-ukraine/

[mahina]

34. Thank you for the links.

I read them and chose Razom today. Mahalo. 🌸

[SuperCoder]

13. God I love Zelensky and everything he is doing

He is a hero. The very definition of. And he will go down in history as such.

When the EU parliament rose and applauded...that was history in the making.

I hope we get out of this whole thing alive and that we can invite him to the White House and reward him properly for his heroism as the incredible leader of democracy that he is.

[samsingh]

18. +100000000000000000000000000000000000000

[FreepFryer]

16. No link to the speeach? Here's a poignant moment at least

https://theweek.com/russo-ukrainian-war/1010742/zelenskys-speech-to-the-european-parliament-leaves-translator-choked-up

[FreepFryer]

17. Link to speech

[samsingh]

19. Let Ukraine into the EU TODAY!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

24. +1. For once in this world, make something happen immediately.

[DFW]

25. She was the one I was hoping would replace Merkel

Germany is just still too much of an old boys' club to have two women in a row as Chancellor. With that, her party gave up the country's leadership to Scholz and the SPD, although Scholz has certainly been doing a decent job so far.

[Samrob]

21. Zelensky puts shame all other world leaders. nt

[niyad]

22. ". .do prove that life will win over death, and light will win over darkness."

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

26. Zelensky needs more than standing ovations -- he needs action, and needs it NOW!

There's a huge column of military vehicles headed to the capital city. It needs to be stopped in its tracks.

Putin needs to understand that he's not the only country with nuclear weapons, and if he uses a nuke he will have lost everything -- even his right to live. Surely there is one person in his inner circle who recognizes what a danger this madman is to the entire world if he is allowed to use nuclear weapons. Who will bell the cat?

[OnDoutside]

27. Speech here

[OnDoutside]

28. The interpreter sobbing has my eyes flooded.

[alphafemale]

31. That was one for the ages

Wow

[Zorro]

32. ...