The summit, hosted in the Ivano‑Frankivsk region, gathered heads of state and senior officials from Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with the European Union also taking part. Zelensky told followers on Telegram that the meeting marked a “significant beginning” of a broader effort to strengthen ties and create a new pillar of cooperation at the EU level, pledging joint work on security, energy, logistics, cross‑border trade and support for local communities.
The gathering comes as U.S.‑mediated peace talks over Russia’s four‑and‑a‑half‑year invasion have stalled, particularly over the issue of territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv is also pressing partners for security guarantees that could underpin any future settlement, while the EU has recently approved a €3.3 billion (about $3.8 billion) tranche of assistance to bolster Ukraine’s defence capabilities, including the purchase of missiles and drones.
The summit was convened against a backdrop of fresh Russian aggression. State Emergency Service reports said Russian strikes overnight killed two people and injured two others in the Zhytomyr region, set fire to warehouses and production facilities, and forced rescuers to retreat amid repeated air‑raid alerts. In Kharkiv, a drone hit an electric train at the Novovodolazka station, killing one and wounding six, while a separate drone attack in Zaporizhzhia destroyed a shopping complex, injuring one more.
Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, warned that Moscow is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets against European nations that support Kyiv, a concern echoed by officials in Germany and Denmark who have recently accused Russia of sabotage, arson and drone incursions near NATO territory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a NATO‑like mechanism to respond to hybrid attacks that fall short of full‑scale aggression but still threaten security.
Russia’s foreign ministry responded on Friday by summoning the British chargé d’affaires to protest the United Kingdom’s continued supply of drones and other weapons to Ukraine, accusing London of “prolonging and escalating the armed conflict.” The ministry added that any British military facilities in Ukraine used to strike Russian territory would be considered legitimate targets.
In parallel, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed its air defences shot down 629 Ukrainian drones over 14 Russian regions, Crimea and the Black Sea, and reported that more than 350 drones were headed toward Moscow, most of which were destroyed far from the capital. Russian forces also said they struck a bulk carrier in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk and a logistics hub near Odesa used for storing and distributing military cargo from Europe.
Zelensky said the EU funding will help offset a projected budget deficit of roughly $27 billion this year and that he will meet von der Leyen at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week to discuss Ukraine’s financial stability.