President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has expressed confidence that Ukraine will prevail in the war of aggression waged by Russia against it, and the European Union will support it not only in fighting but also when it is over.

"Honourable Members [of the European Parliament], I remain just as convinced of one simple fact today than I was two years ago standing in front of you. And that is that Ukraine will prevail and that Europe will stand with you every step of the way, through thick and thin," she said at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Recalling the "historic and massive support for Ukraine," including military, financial or human assistance, sanctions policy against Russia, as well as support for Kyiv on its historic path to EU membership, von der Leyen said "it is a time to look deeper at how we have got here and where we must go."

"The starting point is that Ukraine – and Europe – have shown that we are willing to fight and pay the ultimate price for the things that we believe in. And this was one of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's greatest miscalculations in that month of February – as he amassed troops on the border and planned a quick lightning strike on Kyiv," she said.

The president of the European Commission also said addressiong Putin: "Mr Putin, you made this mistake because you cannot understand what drives a human spirit when it is free to think, dream, create and prosper. Nor can you understand – because you cannot bear to accept that the human desire for freedom will always win." These words were welcomed by applause.

Ukrainians are fighting for liberation, von der Leyen said.

"He [Putin] cannot understand that the fight of the Ukrainians is different to the fight of Russian soldiers whose lives Putin has callously churned for a past long gone and a future that could never exist. Ukraine's sacrifice is the opposite. Why do they fight? Because they are battling, toiling for something existential and inherent to the human condition. This is why Ukraine's will is not just stronger than Russia's, it is fundamentally different in nature and in character. And this is what Putin will never comprehend about us. This is why his invasion was not just morally but also strategically wrong. He cannot understand freedom and why we fight for it because his only instinct is to crush what he fears," she said, adding that this explains what has happened in the last two years.

"Instead of toppling Kyiv, dividing the EU and weakening NATO, the exact opposite has happened on each and every count. […] The message Europe sent at last week's European Council was crystal clear, and let me repeat it here: Europe will be at Ukraine's side for every single day of the war, and for every single day thereafter," von der Leyen said.