President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on European students to put pressure on societies to unite in support of Ukraine.

"It is very important that you put pressure on your societies, stay united in helping and supporting Ukraine, and condemn Russia's aggression. And put pressure on your political leaders who should help Ukraine," he said on Monday, speaking online to students from the university alliance EUniWell.

"Sanctions against Russia should be powerful, weapons should be transferred without delay, help for Ukraine in its defense in the information space should be total," Zelenskyy emphasized and added that Russia is waging a war not only against Ukraine, but also against Europe.

The President emphasized that the war must end with the withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territories and not turn into a frozen conflict in Europe. "We want to push Russian troops out of our territory. We do not want any further continuation of the war. We just want to be free and remind that we are not in President Putin's puppet theater. We are a self-sufficient state," Zelenskyy said.

He also noted that after the war is over, Ukraine, a future full-fledged EU member, will need to rebuild, as many cities and communities have been destroyed by hostilities. "All this will require help: in work, in development, in contribution to the renovation of Ukraine. Therefore, we invite energetic people, students with their ideas and knowledge to Ukraine to restore our country," the President said.

Zelenskyy paid special attention to courage in his speech. "Europe is exactly like that now - brave. It makes decisions, supports the defense of freedom, and puts pressure on the aggressor. What makes this happen? The bravery of leaders. And the bravery of ordinary people who are followed by leaders," he explained.

The EUniWell Alliance unites 11 European universities (total number of students is 337,000): Linnaeus University (Sweden), University of Nantes (France), Semmelweis University (Hungary), University of Birmingham (UK), University of Cologne (Germany), University of Florence (Italy), University of Konstanz (Germany), University of Murcia (Spain), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations INALCO (France). The event was broadcast to all 11 EUniWell universities.