President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the Belgian Parliament, said that Mariupol is by far the most terrible place in Europe.

Addressing the parliamentarians, the head of state said that 90% of the buildings in Mariupol have been destroyed by Russian missiles and artillery, and thousands of civilians have died.

"People are buried right in the city, in the yards of high-rise buildings. More precisely, from what remains of high-rise buildings. For more than three weeks, Mariupol has been in a complete blockade. The Russian military has closed all entrances to the city and blocked the approach from the sea. There is nothing there: water, food, medicines. There is no life. There is not everything that is necessary to maintain any kind of life. But Mariupol does not give up and continues to fight the invaders," Zelensky said.

He also said the defenders of Mariupol had a choice – to leave the city, but they did not.

"Every single day we try to do everything to keep the humanitarian corridors from Mariupol working. To save civilians from there who still remain in the city. Women, children, people of the older generation. We partially succeed. But in most cases, the Russian military does not let people out to the free territory of Ukraine. And do not allow any humanitarian cargo to Mariupol. Today it is the most terrible place in Europe. It was hot there. There is a disaster. Everyone knows about. But no one has enough determination to help stop the catastrophe in this city and in other cities of our state," the president said.

"And now I want to ask all of you: what do the defenders of Mariupol hope for? What do the defenders of other cities hope for? Do the defenders of our cities want to close the skies over Ukraine for Russian missiles and aircraft? They know that there is no courage for this [in the West]. Do they think about whether our state meets the criteria for joining the EU? Do Mariupol residents and defenders count on of any city in Ukraine, the level of losses of European companies after the termination of business in the Russian market? Do they, in principle, think about money? No. They do not hope, they do not consider," he said.