Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in the Greek Parliament and sent a message of "freedom or death" and the Greeks to create a new "Friendly Society", this time in Greece instead of Odessa, which will help save Mariupol.
Present at the meeting was the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the President of SYRIZA and the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
The special session, which the Speaker of Parliament, Konstantinos Tassoulas, described as historic, was attended by the entire parliamentary group of New Democracy and KINAL, while several deputies were absent from SYRIZA.
At the same time, the deputies of the Communist Party of Greece and the Hellenic Solution were absent, as well as six of the seven deputies of MERA25.
Zelensky began his speech with a reference to the Greek-founded city of Mariupol.
"For more than a month, every morning I wake up and think of Mariupol receiving the information about what is happening in this martyr city. This has not happened in another city for half a century. Russian soldiers are destroying everything in Mariupol, it's the work of Russian pilots who could see what they were doing," he said.
Continuing, Zelensky made many references to the presence of Hellenism in Ukraine, describing the coexistence with the Ukrainians as millennial.
"Apart from Mariupol, Odessa, another large Greek center, is also threatened. Why is Odessa calm? Because we managed to drive the Russian barbarians to a relatively safe distance. These troops were killed in places where the Greek community, the Jewish community and other communities coexisted peacefully with the Ukrainians."
The Ukrainian president also made a special reference to the Friendly Society.
"The Friendly Society, was established here and it is something that is of great importance. A new Friendly Society could be created in Greece and save Ukraine. Mariupol, Odessa need immediate help. The Russians are hitting from the sea and land and air," said the Ukrainian president and then gave the floor to two Ukrainians and two Greeks who are fighting against the Russians in Mariupol.
Later in the video appeared two ethnic Greek who are fighting in Ukraine.
"A very large part of the city's population is Greek. The city has been 90% destroyed by the Russian Nazis. Thousands die. Please help us," said the first of them. "Hundreds of people are dying under the damaged buildings. We do not have the ability to save them. You can provide humanitarian aid," he said.
He then referred to the beginnings of the Greek presence in the Black Sea, pointing out that "with Greece, the development of Christianity has developed in several countries. Ukraine was Christianised by the Greeks ."
"In Ukrainian history we will lose a large part of our identity, losing the dimension brought by Greek culture. Freedom or death, your revolutionaries used to say, we say the same now," the Ukrainian president added.
According to him, in addition to Mariupol, Odessa is also threatened by another large centre of Hellenism "and the Foreign Minister heard the horrible sound of machine guns", he said, referring to the recent visit of Nikos Dendias.
The highlights of Volodymyr Zelensky's speech:
- We will win, together. Glory to Ukraine.
- We will rebuild Mariupol, where Greeks and Ukrainians will live together
- The Russians did everything they could to offend the whole of Europe, using their fuel and causing energy market deficits.
- Let us not accept that Mariupol will be the Thermopylae where some heroes died.
- We must drive the Russians out of Ukrainian territory. For the barbarians who make war to understand that they will lose.
- Ukraine has remained standing and at this moment we must save what we Greeks and Ukrainians have created. We will not allow them to destroy our common cultural heritage.
- Freedom or death was said by the Greek fighters of 1821. This is what we say today.
- One of the Greek-Ukrainians who spoke asked for humanitarian aid for Mariupol.
- The Russians must be held accountable for what they did.
- The Friendly Society was formed here and is of great importance. "I believe that a Friendly Society can be created in Greece to have direct support in Ukraine."
- The suffering is great in the Ukrainian community as well.
- The Russians destroy Mariupol. This has not happened in Europe since World War II.
- There are still 100,000 people in Mariupol. Most of the buildings have been destroyed.
- The millennial coexistence between Greeks and Ukrainians is a given. Even our currency shows a connection with Greece.
- Ukraine is one of the Orthodox countries that was Christianised by the Greeks.
- Russian troops hit civilians as planned.
READ MORE: Greece to call for ICJ investigation into crimes conducted in Mariupol.
