ANKARA

Russia "knows no limits" and will find a way to destabilize Europe, Ukraine’s president said Friday.

The head of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French parliament, Yael Braun-Pivet, welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris.

“We live in an era where Europe is no more a continent of peace. … Some seek to divide Europe,” Zelenskyy told the lawmakers.

He stressed that Russia, which targets Ukraine today, can target other countries in the future, warning the Baltic countries, Poland, and the Balkans of the risks.

“This Russian regime knows no limits, Europe is no longer enough for it. It already destroyed Syria and troubled the Sahel. It invests in terror and threatens life where it can reach and faces no resistance. It uses everything to weaken countries by using energy sources and food products,” Zelenskyy slammed.

He also lashed out at Russia for using the “arsenal of the previous century,” such as the maritime blockade, kidnapping Ukrainian children to "re-educate" them, and sowing hatred of their motherland in them.

“Russia blackmails the entire world. … It will also find a way and the faith to destabilize Europe,” Zelenskyy further said.

He recalled that in the 1930s, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler crossed the lines one by one, and said Russian President Vladimir Putin now “does the same.”

Russia is "the opposite of freedom, equality, and fraternity," Zelenskyy said, adding: “It is the opposite of Europe.”

“Russia cannot win because we do not have the right to lose,” the president noted, and thanked Europe and particularly France for their support.

“I thank you for standing with us to defend life,” Zelenskyy said in French.

The president, who attended the international ceremony held Thursday in northwestern France to commemorate the D-Day, also paid tribute to those who fought for the liberation of France and Europe 80 years ago in the Battle of Normandy.

Meanwhile, head of the parliament Braun-Pivet reiterated France’s support for Ukraine, and said: “The future of our values is at play in your territory.”

Zelenskyy is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden, who is also in Paris for his first state visit in France.

Critics

French opposition parties criticized President Emmanuel Macron's stance, who announced on Thursday the transfer of Mirage jet planes to Ukraine, and training of the Ukrainian soldiers in France by the end of the year.

The top candidate of the far-right party National Rally in the European elections, Jordan Bardella, told the broadcaster BFMTV that Macron was "instrumentalizing the conflict" in Ukraine, and criticized him for playing "a dangerous game."

The leader of the right-wing party Les Republicains, Olivier Marleix, said that inviting Zelenskyy two days ahead of the elections was "inappropriate" and "regrettable."

The secretary-general of the Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, said on X on Friday: "The president chooses, alone, the military escalation by crossing the red lines that he fixed. V. Zelenskyy's speech will change nothing."

Left-wing lawmaker Manon Aubry from the party La France Insoumise, for her part, said France must "stop directly financing the war in Ukraine, by financing directly Russia via importing Russian liquid gas."