Speaking after the address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's video message to MEPs at the European Parliament in Brussels today, ECR Co-Chairman Nicola Procaccini reiterated his group's firm call for the European Union to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

According to Procaccini, the example of the Ukrainian people defending their country shows that “homeland is not a word that belongs to the past, but is still what holds the meaning of men and women in history. It teaches us that freedom is not a political slogan, but a necessity of the soul”, Procaccini said in his speech.

“Finally, it teaches us that Europe is not a treaty signed in the last century, it is not a set of sometimes unjust rules, a collection of bureaucrats and offices, but is a community of destiny”, he continued.

The full speech reads:

Thank you President, a thousand days ago what was disguised as a mere Russian military exercise on the border with Ukraine turned out to be a full-scale invasion. The first in Europe after years of peace. A failed invasion, this very moment of commemoration reminds us. Failed thanks to the strenuous defence of Ukrainian men and women. Failed thanks to the courage and determination of the Ukrainian president. He was surrounded, threatened, mocked by internet trolls, but he did not flee, neither to a remote dacha in the forest, nor to a Manhattan hotel. He stood where he belonged, with his family, carrying out his duty.

The Putin regime was convinced that it would only take one night to take over Ukraine. It did not. Since that day, the Ukrainian people have been enduring under the weight of indiscriminate shelling, targeting civilians, critical infrastructure and everything essential for survival. Since that day, Ukrainian children have been going to school underground. For a thousand days, Ukraine has been forced to fight and die in order to continue to exist.

What are the Ukrainian people teaching us? Three things above all. That homeland is not a word that belongs to the past, but is still what holds the meaning of men and women in history. It teaches us that freedom is not a political slogan, but a necessity of the soul. Finally, it teaches us that Europe is not a treaty signed in the last century, it is not a set of sometimes unjust rules, a collection of bureaucrats and offices, but is a community of destiny. To which we belong, without having to choose it.

In a few hours there will be another anniversary. On the evening of 21st November 2013, some young people took to the streets of Kiev. They were beaten and killed. They became thousands and gave rise to a popular revolution called Euromaidan. None of us Western Europeans can imagine a generation of high school kids and young workers defying death by colouring their faces in the blue and stars of Europe, but in Ukraine, it happened. They died wrapped in the bloody flags of the European Union: the flag that for us is not much more than an office object. And they died like that, under the bells of St Michael’s monastery, while someone played Chopin on a piano set up on a pile of snow soaked in blood.

That is why we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. And not only because it represents the right side of history, but because we know that not defending the principles of freedom and human dignity today would mean accepting a future of chaos, in which the law of force prevails over right and the weakest are destined to succumb.

Those watching this war in China, in Africa, in the Middle East, in Latin America, are waiting to know whether the entire West still believes in its founding values. Among them: the value of peace. Which is not an inescapable condition, unfortunately. But it is a treasure to be protected with courage and sacrifice. Winston Churchill wisely said: “Accepting peace on hard terms is like feeding a crocodile, hoping it will eat us last”. Let us do what is right. For as long as it takes.