Ukrainian leader Zelenskiy to address Greek parliament on April 7

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address Greece's parliament on April 7, parliament officials said on Monday.

Zelenskiy accepted an invitation to address the assembly virtually from its speaker, Constantinos Tasoulas, following a telephone call with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday.

"It's important that Greek parliament listens to the message of a president, who along with his country, is defending himself against a barbaric and illegal invasion," Mitsotakis said after an EU Summit in Brussels.

Zelenskiy's address is scheduled to start at noon (0900 GMT).

Greece is coordinating with France and other countries to organise a humanitarian aid mission to Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian port city of 400,000 before the war where thousands of ethnic Greeks live, which has been one of the worst hit in the Russian invasion. 

Russia says it is carrying out "a special military operation" in Ukraine.