Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a standing ovation from Members of European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels after his speech via video-link which called on the EU to support his country. 

The speech came as Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv and a Russian military convoy massed on the outskirts of the country's capital Kyiv. 

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"Without you, Ukraine is going to be alone. We have proven our strength. We have proven that, at a minimum, we are exactly the same as you are," Zelenskyy said to the European Parliament. 

"Do prove you are with us, do prove that you will not let us go. Prove that you are truly Europeans, then life will conquer death, and light will conquer darkness. Glory to Ukraine!" 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the other hand, did not receive such a warm welcome at the UN Rights Forum, when EU, U.S. and British envoys walked out.

Lavrov was addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council remotely, having canceled his attendance due to what the Russian mission in Geneva said were EU states blocking his flight path.

A similar boycott of his speech had also just taken place at the nearby Conference on Disarmament, a body created in 1979 to try to stem the Cold War arms race.

Outside that chamber, diplomats gathered in front of a Ukrainian flag and applauded loudly.

The applause could be heard in the chamber where Lavrov's speech continued, with only a handful of ambassadors from countries including Yemen, Syria, Venezuela and Tunisia there to hear it.

Video editor: Steve Chappell