Europe needs to show “resolve, not appeasement” as Russia wages war on Ukraine, Brussels chief Ursula von der Leyen warned today.
The European Commission President urged the bloc’s 27 nations to maintain their fragile solidarity as sanctions bite on Moscow - and Vladimir Putin tries to strangle gas supplies to the Continent, sending energy prices rocketing.
Insisting the EU's alliance with Kyiv would be "unshakeable”, the bloc chief said: "The sanctions are here to stay - this is the time for us to show resolve, not appeasement.”
Delivering her annual State of the Union speech, she added: "We are in it for the long haul."
It came as Britain's Ministry of Defence said it believed Russia is having to rely on supplies from pariah states like North Korea and Iran to get round sanctions.
Wearing blue and yellow - the colours of both Ukraine's and the EU flags - Mrs von der Leyen opened her 59-minute address by telling MEPs that “never before has this Parliament debated the state of our union with war raging on European soil”.
Underlining the seriousness of the fight unfolding raging on the EU’s borders, she went on: “Let us be very clear, much is at stake here - not just for Ukraine but for all of Europe and the world at large.
“And we will be tested - tested by those who want to exploit any kind of divisions between us.
“This is not only a war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine; this is a war on our energy, a war on our economy, a war on our values and a war on our future.
“This is about autocracy against democracy - and I stand here with the conviction that with courage and solidarity, Putin will fail and Europe will prevail.”
Fuelling EU accession hopes among the bloc’s eastern neighbours, she claimed the organisation was incomplete without Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Western Balkan countries.
"You are part of our family, you are the future of our union," Mrs von der Leyen told the nations.
"Our union is not complete without you."
Experts and some international leaders have been surprised by the strength of Ukraine’s resistance - led by hero President Volodymr Zelensky.
Praising Ukrainians’ courage for the battle, she also pointed to failures by the Kremlin's war planners, highlighting how “the Russian military is taking chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military hardware, because they ran out of semiconductors”.
Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska was in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to listen to Mrs von der Leyen’s speech, which was dominated by the Kremlin’s invasion and the cost-of-living crisis.
Mrs Zelenska sat to the European Commission’s President left, wearing a striking cream outfit.
She looked solemn and at times appeared to fight back tears as she listened to the Continent’s support for her country.
Addressing her directly, Mrs von der Leyen said: “Today, Ukraine stands strong because an entire country has fought street by street, home by home.
“Ukraine stands strong because people like your husband, President Zelensky, have stayed in Kyiv to lead the resistance – together with you and your children, dear First Lady.
“You have given courage to the whole nation, and we have seen in the last days the bravery of Ukrainians paying off.
“You have given voice to your people on the global stage - and you have given hope to all of us.”
MEPs applauded and stood as European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told her: “Dear Olena, we are with you and with the Ukrainian people.
“We are here today against an alarming backdrop of an illegal, unjustifiable invasion of sovereign Ukraine.”
Vladimir Putin's forces are being forced to source equipment from North Korea and Iran as the impacts of sanctions and military losses in Ukraine bite, defence experts believe.
British defence intelligence analysts think that Moscow is "increasingly sourcing weaponry from other heavily sanctioned states" as its own stockpiles are depleted.
An update published by the UK's Ministry of Defence pointed to claims that Ukrainian forces had shot down an Iranian-made drone as evidence of Moscow's use of systems sourced from Tehran.
Ukraine claimed it shot down the drone near Kupiansk as part of the offensive that has punched through Russian lines around Kharkiv on the eastern front.
The image suggested the Shahed "suicide drone" had been shot down by Ukrainian forces and had not detonated on impact as designed, though little information was released by the authorities in Kyiv.
The UK's Ministry of Defence said: "Russia has highly likely deployed Iranian uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) in Ukraine for the first time.
"On September 13 2022, Ukrainian officials reported that their forces had shot down a Shahed-136 UAV near Kupiansk, in the area of Ukraine's successful ongoing offensive.
"The Shahed-136 is a one-way attack UAV with a claimed range of 2,500 kilometres.
"Similar Iranian-manufactured systems have likely been used in attacks in the Middle East, including against the oil tanker MT Mercer Street in July 2021."
Russian forces have sustained heavy losses since the invasion of Ukraine began in February, and sanctions have restricted access to key components for its weapons systems.
The MoD update said: "Russia is almost certainly increasingly sourcing weaponry from other heavily sanctioned states like Iran and North Korea as its own stocks dwindle.
"The loss of a Shahed-136 near the front lines suggests there is a realistic possibility that Russia is attempting to use the system to conduct tactical strikes rather than against more strategic targets farther into Ukrainian territory."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also underlined the impact of sanctions on Russia's defence industry.
"The Russian military is taking chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military hardware, because they ran out of semiconductors," she said.
"Russia's industry is in tatters."
