Russia-Ukraine crisis: President Zelensky to address European Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to address the European Parliament by videolink on Tuesday as his country battles to hold back Russian forces, the legislature’s speaker said.

Parliament chief Roberta Metsola wrote on Twitter that Zelensky “will join and speak to the world” when EU lawmakers debate the war from 1130 GMT.

The address by Zelensky — who has become a global icon of defiance in the face of Moscow’s aggression — comes as Kyiv pushes for fast-track membership of the bloc.

EU lawmakers look set to back a non-binding resolution calling for Ukraine to be granted candidate status.

But the decision to put Kyiv on the path to join remains one for the 27 member states. Officials caution it would take years of reforms for Ukraine to be able to become part of the EU.

The European Union, however, has imposed broad and painful sanctions on Russia, targeting President Vladimir Putin, top officials, oligarchs supporting him and the central bank.

Satellite images show a huge build-up of Russian armoured vehicles and artillery 29 kilometres north of Kyiv as the capital, population three million, braces for an all-out assault.