EU chief says sanctions on Russia to stay

EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said the successive waves of EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine were here to stay and that Europeans must keep their resolve against Moscow.

"I want to make it very clear, the sanctions are here to stay. This is the time for us to show resolve, not appeasement," von der Leyen said in European Parliament during her annual State of the Union speech.

Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska attended the gathering in Strasbourg, receiving a standing ovation from lawmakers.


Von der Leyen told MEPs that she would travel to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"I will travel to Kiev today to meet President Zelensky" to discuss "in detail" the continuation of European aid, she said in her major annual political address.

"For the first time in its history, this Parliament is debating the state of our Union while war is raging on European soil," said von der Leyen, dressed in Ukrainian colours.

"Dear Olena, it took immense courage to stand up to Putin's cruelty. You found that courage," she said.